Are you worried about Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive?

The Microsoft-Activision Blizzard acquisition has made the entire gaming industry stop and take stock of the future. If and when the deal is closed, it could very well be that the upcoming games from Activision may become exclusive to the Xbox platform. This is a fact that many gamers are worried about, as Call of Duty, one of gaming’s most popular franchises, could be restricted to a single console. 

But, on consideration, this seems like an unlikely consideration. An industry analyst has stated that making the game exclusive “would be hard to get past regulators.” The analyst was interviewed by GIBiz, where they said making Call of Duty a Microsoft exclusive would be difficult due to fears of monopolization as 55% of console gamers and 33% of PC gamers played a Call of Duty game. This is just 10% more than the biggest franchise, Grand Theft Auto. 

David Cole of DFC Intelligence feels that this large a market share would make it difficult to pass the notion with regulators, but other moves such as including the game in Xbox Game Pass may get more people to buy an Xbox console.

[Quote] It should also be noted that on the console side, Call of Duty is really the only big franchise from Activision. The big issue is if CoD becomes a Microsoft exclusive. Right now, I don’t think [it will]. For one thing, it would be hard to get it past regulators if they want to lock the competition out. Making Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox — or even just included as part of Game Pass — could be a major benefit for Xbox when these consumers decide between Xbox Series or PS5. 

Karol Severin, from Midia Research, put forth that instead of going for console exclusivity, Microsoft may use the acquisition to influence the PC marketplace. By taking Call of Duty off of Steam, Microsoft may take control of the online storefronts. 

[Quote] Microsoft could eventually take Call of Duty off Steam, in order to usher PC gamers towards [PC] Game Pass as their key distribution channel. 

CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer stated that he is committed to keeping games on PlayStation even after the acquisition. But, Xbox had made the same comments before moving the IPs exclusively to their platform, such as the Bethesda acquisition. 

About Microsoft

Founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975, Microsoft is an American MNC that creates, licenses, supports and sells computers, software, electronics, video games, and corresponding services.

Some of the most popular titles in the world, like Age of Empires, Forza, Gears of War, Halo, Minecraft, Microsoft Solitaire, Microsoft Flight Simulator, and State of Decay, have been developed and published by Microsoft.

Microsoft is also known for establishing the famous console brand Xbox, along with the video game subscription Xbox Game Pass.