The video game industry was shaken to the core ever since the news of Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard for almost $70 billion broke out. While the deal isn’t expected to be in place until FY2023, owners of PlayStation consoles are already spending their nights in terror just thinking about the fate of Activision’s biggest IPs.
Let’s take Call of Duty for the case in hand. Every new installment of this prized franchise ends up on PlayStation’s best-selling list. But now, with this unexpected merger taking place, would Activision games become Xbox exclusive?
Well, Sony doesn’t think so.
Addressing the public for the first time after the acquisition went public, Sony assured PlayStation owners by stating that it expects Microsoft to keep Activision games multiplatform.
Speaking to Wall Street Journal on Thursday, a spokesperson from Sony said,
We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform.
Sony
Unfortunately, the company remained silent on crucial details like what will happen when these “contractual agreements” reach their end?
If a Bloomberg report is anything to go by then, one can expect Microsoft to keep “some of Activision’s games” on PlayStation while making “some content” exclusive to Microsoft and Xbox. This might ring a bell for you because it appears to be the exact same approach Xbox had when acquiring Bethesda.
As of now, it looks like fans will simply have to find comfort in knowing that their beloved Activision IPs will remain available on Sony consoles for the time being. As for the future, worry about it some other day when something more concrete is out.
In addition to this, what remains to be seen is how Sony will respond.
The company just lost $20 billion in valuation due to Xbox’s Activision acquisition, and being a giant of this industry, many fans and analysts do not expect them to simply sit idle. While we do not know what counter move the Japanese tech mammoths will play, we do know that some exciting days surely lie ahead of us.
About Sony
Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. The company operates as one of the most comprehensive media companies on the planet and also holds the distinctions of being the largest video game console company and the second largest video game publisher in the world.
Its gaming and network services arm Sony Interactive Entertainment (formerly Sony Computer Entertainment) is best known for producing the popular line of PlayStation consoles.
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