Shortly after the official announcement that Microsoft wants to take over the U.S. publishing giant Activision Blizzard for the price of 69 billion U.S. dollars, many gamers and players wondered about the future of various well-known brands.

The immensely successful “Call of Duty” series in particular quickly became a political issue, as competition watchdogs fear that an Xbox exclusivity for the franchise could massively influence customers’ purchasing decisions. After Microsoft announced a few days ago that it had signed an agreement with Sony Interactive Entertainment, which ensures that the “Call of Duty” franchise will continue to be released for the PlayStation consoles, the situation now sounds a bit different.

In a recent interview, Jim Ryan, none other than the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, addressed this issue, calling the agreement with Microsoft “insufficient on several levels”.

Warranty only until 2027?

While Microsoft’s Phil Spencer spoke a few days ago about “several years” in which the “Call of Duty” titles will be released simultaneously and in an equivalent version for the PlayStation, Ryan already got a bit more concrete. As he detailed, Microsoft will not only respect the current exclusive deal between Activision and Sony Interactive Entertainment, which includes “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2” coming out in October, as well as the next spin-offs from Sledgehammer Games (2023) and Treyarch (2024).

In addition, Microsoft would have guaranteed in the deal that “Call of Duty” titles for 2025, 2026 and 2027 would also find their way to the PlayStation. Not enough for Sony Interactive Entertainment, as Ryan told GamesIndustry.biz, “I wasn’t going to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion. However, I feel the need to clarify something that was taken into the public domain by Spencer. Microsoft has simply offered that Call of Duty will remain on the PlayStation for three more years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends.”

Ryan added, “”After nearly 20 years of Call of Duty on the PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and did not consider the impact on our players. We want to continue to guarantee the highest quality Call of Duty experiences for PlayStation players. It’s a principle that Microsoft’s proposal undermines.”