While the Call of Duty series is not expected to be exclusive to Xbox even after Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony still seems to be worried. According to a survey, Sony considers the brand to be so big that it currently has no competition and could influence its fans’ choice of console.
Sony believes that Call of Duty is too big
The survey comes from the Brazilian Competition Authority, which is currently scrutinizing the proposed deal between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard. (via Resetera) In the process, the authority also surveyed other companies such as Ubisoft, Warner Bros, Google and Amazon and published the results.
As can be seen from the responses, Sony has some concerns that the deal could tip the competitive balance of the gaming industry. In particular, the publisher cites the Call of Duty series as a brand without direct competition:
Call of Duty is so popular that it influences users’ choice of console, and its network of loyal users is so established that even if a competitor had the budget to develop a similar product, it wouldn’t be able to compete with it. […] Each annual Call of Duty release takes an average of 3-5 years to develop. Since Activision releases one CoD per year, that means an annual investment of hundreds of millions of dollars.
Sony goes on to explain that no other development team would be able to put a comparable amount of resources and expertise into game development. Call of Duty is simply so established that no rival to the series could catch up.
Xbox could offer more advantages in the future
Little wonder, then, that Sony is concerned. Even though Microsoft has already confirmed that CoD will be released for PlayStation beyond existing agreements, the lack of console sales would also hurt Sony.
Until now, Sony finally had a certain advantage when it came to Call of Duty thanks to an exclusivity deal with Activision. Not only did CoD Vanguard recently come out with time-exclusive PlayStation content, but Activision’s upcoming three CoD titles are also said to be included in the deal. The beta for Modern Warfare 2 will also be released for PS4 and PS5 first, and according to rumors, there will also be an exclusive mode for PSVR 2.
However, once the deal expires and Microsoft owns the rights to the CoD series, things could go the other way. Even if the games remain multiplatform, Microsoft could easily offer additional benefits that were previously reserved for PlayStation users and then lure them to Xbox.
You can get a first glimpse of the next CoD offshoot in the gameplay video:
Other opinions differ
Sony, of course, was not the only company questioned by the Brazilian competition authority. Other publishers did not view CoD and other ActiBlizz brands so critically. Apex Legends and PUBG, for example, were mentioned as serious competition for Call of Duty. Riot Games even considers Sony’s development studio Naughty Dog alone a worthy rival to all of Activision Blizzard.
How about you, would you change your platform of choice for a single game series?
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