Microsoft president Brad Smith has confirmed that the company has offered a ten-year Call of Duty contract to Sony Playstation and other platforms.

Microsoft has confirmed that it has offered Sony a ten-year deal to provide Call of Duty on Sony’s PlayStation. Since Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision largely depends on FTC approval, the fate of Call of Duty games on various platforms may soon rely on the company. Sony says the historic scale of the acquisition could lead to too much centralisation.

Tech giant Microsoft is in the process of acquiring Activision Blizzard, publisher of the Call of Duty games, among other leading video game franchises.

The companies have already signed the deal, but it is pending approval from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC will determine whether antitrust rules allow the acquisition. The process is not expected to be completed until well into 2023. Usually, when companies are not allowed to merge in this way, the reason is that doing so would create a monopoly. This can happen when companies own such a significant market share that it becomes an obstacle to the free market.

According to earlier reports, Microsoft offered Sony a ten-year contract for Call of Duty. With this agreement, Sony would secure the first-day release of future Call of Duty titles for another ten years. Now the company’s president Brad Smith has clarified their position on the Call of Duty contract. According to Smith’s opinion piece in the WSJ, Microsoft has indeed offered Sony a ten-year warranty. In fact, it would extend it to other platforms.

Sony and others don’t have to take Smith’s word for it.

Smith says Microsoft is ready to sign the actual agreement, which would become a legally enforceable contract by US, UK and EU regulators.

But that’s not to say Activision Blizzard has much more to offer than Call of Duty. Even within Call of Duty, there could be Xbox-exclusive content. The contract only includes a clause that Xbox and PlayStation versions will be released simultaneously.

The tug-of-war between Microsoft and Sony was well underway at the time of the acquisition. It is conceivable that Sony cannot afford to lose a colossal game franchise like Call of Duty. Since Microsoft holds the key to Activision’s offices, it can stop publishing PlayStation versions at will if there are no contracts. Smith’s offer could offer solace to Sony PlayStation and other platforms. However, that doesn’t mean the acquisition won’t hurt PlayStation in different ways. On the contrary, Smith and Microsoft argue that the purchase would be suitable for gamers.

Source: WSJ