Microsoft and Activision have struck the biggest deal in video game history. Here’s what’s in store for the future of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles.

Update 01/26/2022: As it looks, Activision will continue to publish games from the popular “Call of Duty” series for the PS4 and PS5 – at least until 2023, when the mega-deal with Microsoft is supposed to be finalized. Beyond that, however, it’s hard to say at the moment.

According to its own statements, Microsoft wants to keep existing contracts until then. According to a report by the renowned gaming journalist Jason Schreier, at least 3 more CoD titles from Activision will also be released on PlayStation platforms by 2023. These are said to be Call of Duty 2022 (probably Modern Warfare 2), Call of Duty 2023 (a Treyarch title), and Warzone 2 (only for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X). What happens after that, even Schreier can’t glimpse.

Many consider it likely that at least Warzone (then probably in the form of Warzone 2) will continue to be available on PlayStation consoles beyond 2023. However, opinions are currently divided about the new main titles that will follow in 2024. Some think it is possible that they will no longer be playable on PlayStation or only via a potential Xbox Game Pass. Others are firmly convinced that the new installments of the Call of Duty series will still be released on PlayStation as normal – and not just exclusively for PC and Xbox. Unfortunately, nothing is officially known about this yet. For now, however, fans can rest assured that Call of Duty will still be released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5*.

Original message from 19.01.2022:

Santa Monica, California – What a huge tremor it is that is going through the gaming industry right now. Between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard is happening the biggest deal the gaming industry, possibly the economy as a whole, has ever seen. But the acquisition has a long rattail. Many developer studios and their games are affected by the deal. Call of Duty fans in particular are wondering if the series could soon disappear from Sony’s PlayStation consoles. We reveal what the future holds for Call of Duty on PS4 and PS5.

Call of Duty: Deal between Microsoft and Activision – concern about future of the series on PlayStation

This is the deal between Microsoft and Activision:

On January 18, 2022, the gaming world collectively held its breath when Microsoft announced its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The publisher company, which in addition to Call of Duty also holds the rights to Overwatch, Diablo or even Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, will be virtually completely owned by the tech giant by 2023. On the stock market, the deal is already causing Activision’s share price to soar, while Sony’s is plummeting.

That will change after the deal:

With so many franchises falling into Microsoft’s hands with the deal, things will change in the distribution of Activision’s games. Xbox head Phil Spencer has already announced in a blog post that he will bring as many of the games as possible to Xbox Game Pass. Both current and old titles would then be accessible via the service. More importantly, Microsoft could bring new games from the well-known Activision series exclusively to its platforms. Therefore, there is now fear among many PlayStation fans that Call of Duty might not be released for PS4 and PS5 in the future.

Call of Duty: Xbox CEO gives all-clear around game exclusivity for now.

Here’s what the future of Call of Duty looks like: As far as Call of Duty is concerned, fans don’t have to worry much about their favorite shooters on PlayStation for now. Until the deal is probably finalized in the first half of 2023, Activision still retains decision-making rights over its games. At least for Call of Duty 2022, the release should still happen as usual on PS4 and PS5. This should also remain the case in the future. Phil Spencer mentioned to Bloomberg that many games would still be released on PlayStation.

This is what I can say to player:ins of “Activision Blizzard” games on PlayStation: it is not in our intention to pull any communities off the platform and we want to stick to that.

Still, that could change for Call of Duty: Call of Duty is therefore likely to remain on the PS4 and PS5 in the future. However, the same article also says that some content would remain exclusive to Xbox. In the previous Call of Duty games, this exclusive content came primarily to PlayStation – so this should be an end in the future. Gamers:inside should expect such future changes in the deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard for other franchises as well. *tz.de is a service of IPPEN.MEDIA.