Under oath, Phil Spencer addresses the future of Call of Duty titles
The opposite of pleading the fifth.
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The ongoing trial between theFTC and Microsofthas led to another concern being addressed for the umpteenth time. Will Call of Duty remain multiplatform, or is there a chance it ever becomes an Xbox exclusive? Phil Spencer addressed this rather directly.
“I think, as we’ve seen even in preparation for this, that gamers are an active and vocal group. Us pullingCall of Dutyfrom PlayStation, in my view, would create irreparable harm for the Xbox brand,” he said, all while under oath for the first time.
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“I would raise my hand; I would do whatever it takes,” he told Judge Corley. “My commitment is, and my testimony is, that we will continue to ship future versions of Call of Duty on PlayStation 5.”
These comments follow multiple statements and offers from Xbox that Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation. These included a10-yeardeal with Sony, which was reportedly declined. Contracts were also offered toNintendoand Steam, the former having accepted, the latter stating it was unnecessary. EvenJim Ryanadmitted in a company email that Call of Duty would most likely remain multiplatform. These arguments are at odds with the FTC’sclaimsthat Xbox could still pull Call of Duty from PlayStation platforms.Later, when the FTC had a second chance to question Spencer, the lawyer asked Spencer whether they were willing to make similar commitments for cloud gaming. Judge Corley shut the question down, dismissing the line of questioning by the FTC. She then thanked Spencer for his testimony before he left the stand.
When the deal was announced, Phil Spencer stated thatfutureCall of Duty games would continue to release on PlayStation consoles. He continues to do so, and I imagine that message will not change as Microsoft looks to push the acquisition of Activision/Blizzard through the federal court system.
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Michael has been gaming since he was five when his mother first bought a Super Nintendo from Blockbuster. Having written for a now-defunct website in the past, he’s joined Windows Central as a contributor to spreading his 30+ years of love for gaming with everyone he can. His favorites include Red Dead Redemption, all the way to the controversial Dark Souls 2.
