Xbox Ending Platform Exclusive Call of Duty Content

Last week, Microsoft closed on its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, ending a process that had begun all the way back at the start of 2022. It will be a while before gamers start to see the impact of the deal, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer has wasted no time outlining his vision for the future. Speaking on the official Xbox podcast, Spencer discussed Call of Duty in particular, noting that the days of exclusive skins and timed exclusive content will be coming to an end. Whether the game is on Xbox, PlayStation, or Nintendo, all players will start to have access to the same content. 

"For Call of Duty players on PlayStation, and in the future Nintendo, I want you to feel 100% a part of the community," he said. "I don't want you to feel like there's content you're missing out, skins you're missing out, there's timing that you're missing out on… that's not the goal," said Spencer. "The goal is 100% parity across all platforms as much as we can for launch and content. I say 'as much as we can' on parity because clearly some platforms have resolution and framerate differences, just based on performance, but there's nothing else."

The Future of Call of Duty

Exclusive content in Call of Duty has been a source of frustration for players for some time. Both PlayStation and Xbox have secured timed exclusives over the years, and the whole thing ends up leaving players frustrated on either side. If Microsoft truly is moving away from the practice, that will benefit all players, regardless of their preferred platform. It's easy to see why Activision was interested in making these deals in the past, but it simply wouldn't make sense for Microsoft to do so now; the company fought hard to convince regulators that it wouldn't make the Call of Duty experience "inferior" on other platforms. One way of ensuring that is by eliminating exclusive content and making sure everyone gets the same Call of Duty experience (at least as much as technology will allow).

Call of Duty on Nintendo

Spencer specifically mentions Nintendo, which is a company that hasn't had much in terms of Call of Duty content through the years. However, that will be changing in the future, as Microsoft signed a contract guaranteeing the Call of Duty franchise on Nintendo platforms for at least 10 years. It remains to be seen how that might play out, but it seems likely we won't see a Call of Duty game on a Nintendo system until the successor to Switch. Reports have suggested that a "Nintendo Switch 2" will be arriving in the second half of 2024. If that's true, it's possible we could see a Call of Duty game at launch for the system, but that's completely speculation at this time. 

Are you happy that exclusive content will be a thing of the past? Do you think that was hurting Call of Duty? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]