Phil Spencer: Xbox Went 'Well Beyond Typical Agreements' To Keep Call Of Duty On PlayStation

Oh so now it's changed to several years lol

Their wording on these deals just keeps on changing and sending mixed messages all the time (just like with Bethesda). Basically they wanted the FTC to believe it would stay on playstation forever to get the deal done but sony weren't stupid enough to sign that original agreement and has resulted in them (sony) throwing a strop.

Edit: Actually looking back at it I might be wrong, he says "with feature and content parity, for at least several more years beyond the current Sony contract"

That could mean it still comes to playstation but not with the same features and content parity as xbox, so basically after a few years it may become either timed exclusive or have exclusive modes and content.

Yet again though, not 100% clear message sent

Sounds like playstation(Sony) have been panicking...

Meanwhile, Sony regularly secures exclusive content for their platforms...

And again, Sony won't like it because they won't be able to do marketing and content deals, and block GP, to ensure COD is associated with PlayStation, and maintaining higher sales on that platform.

Wow lots of fuss over one video game that for me lost it’s appeal years ago, once the campaigns got to short and unremarkable.
It’s not like the deal has even gone through yet.
And who knows what will happen once it does, the gaming world is changing on a good few fronts of late.

Phil’s Sony PlayStation not deserve this... Because they are too jealous...

So, if Microsoft were being transparent, which they’re not (like every large corporation), it is likely just simply to be the case they want to play the waiting game.

As in, they currently don’t have the market leading share, not by a long shot depending on which market is being looked at.

Thus, it makes sense they don’t wish to confirm that CoD won’t be on other platforms in a set timeframe, because they frankly don’t know where Xbox as a brand will be saturation wise by that timeframe.

This way, it means they can keep extending their ever so generous offers to publish a multi-platform franchise on everything it appears now, until it becomes financially acceptable to not do so.

To put myself in their shoes, I wouldn’t confirm when it’s leaving other platforms either, because it would then set in stone the publics perception, along with allowing other to monopolise on such announcement.

I mean to be frank, the money they make from micro transactions on the Sony platforms if they own the brand and the deal goes through, is worth a lot, a lot to be giving up if they don’t have the install base to make up for it.

This guy. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s bent all the way over and allowed Sony to keep the marketing of cod at this point.

So they provided a signed agreement in January in writing and Sony have still been vocal with various governing bodies against the deal going through? Understandable but also shows Sony are absolutely flapping about COD being under the MS umbrella.

Honestly I couldn’t care less about it still being on PlayStation, as long as I get their games day one with Game Pass I’m good.

What’s interesting here is this deal was apparently made back in January. Meaning Sony has KNOWN that feature and content parity would be available for several years, and they have STILL went into over dramatic mode trying to undermine the deal when every other publisher has said it’s fine. To me, that means Sony isn’t afraid of losing call of Duty. It’s more that they are afraid of losing ANY marketing advantage in Call of Duty whatsoever. This isn’t about fear of being locked out. It’s about throwing a fit if they lose an advantageous position with timed and content exclusive deals. That to me is shady. I think they realize that the vast majority of gamers don’t buy systems for Exclusive Single Player adventures, but for multiplayer games and their friend lists.

Sony know because they got both the COD and FIFA deals off Xbox back in the day, which was really smart and that is one of the reasons the PS4 was so popular and some of the reason the popularity of the PS5 exists.
They had cleaver PR when advertising that almost made it look like COD and FIFA where Sony exclusives.
I don’t think Sony need to worry this generation but maybe in 4 to 5 years time it could be concerning, especially as FIFA leaves EA as well next year.
That could be two of Sonys star turn games with full advertising rights etc disappearing.

Several more years? How many is several. Seems several may be the same or more than a few, but not more than many or less than a few. However if it is a few or several of a group of ten then several and a few may be interpreted as 3-5.

A couple does have a history of originating as a precise number. That number was 2. Was because a couple is also used sometimes for more than 2.🤔

I do not play COD. However I enjoyed the Google search and learning a little while eating a meal.

Just make the Multi-player Free to Play and build up Maps, Rotate Eras etc from the entire 'timeline' and history of Call of Duty games. It will compete with Fortnite, Apex etc and be available EVERYWHERE inc Cloud so it grows the community and of course MS as its an MS Brand.

It also opens up all those Sony gamers who don't want PS+ too as well as all those on Xbox without Gold. With so much history and content, they can rotate every season to a 'new' era, or new map set.

Online free mode is literally 'free' - no Skill based matchmaking, regular MP with some regular customisation unlocks etc, and every season, have a 'competitive' league play unlocked to season pass holders and a range of season related cosmetics to earn and/acquire. Free players can buy 'cosmetics' too of course to keep funding the game indefinitely on ALL platforms.

That 'frees' up the majority of devs to work on 'other' projects. Whether they form a CoD studio - like they did with Halo - or an existing studio becomes the home, Its not MS's way to have 8 studio's all working on one game and want devs to create their 'own' games, have their own identity/personality etc so I can see CoD MP at least, going F2P - like Halo....

I hope whatever he got in return was worth it though

@StylesT this sort of thing once again highlights the double standard of Sony and the PlayStation fanbase. They can seemingly have as many exclusives as they want and buy devs to make exclusives for them and it’s fine, but god forbid if Microsoft do the same.

If Sony made Destiny exclusive now that they own Bungie, fair play, they have every right to do so. Just as MS should have every right to make any IP they own exclusive also and let’s be honest here, MS are a lot more open to sharing IP across multiple platforms than the competition and they’re still seen as the big bad.

The double standard is real.

@GunValkyrian Sony isn't the industry leader through Nintendo are.

Crazy how Sony seems to get it’s cake and eat it too. I don’t understand what Xbox gets out of all of this. If they want to keep it multi-platform because it makes financial sense then sure go ahead but why the need to sign an agreement when Sony is going to cry about it anyway?

@K1LLEGAL They’re either terrified of what losing the marketing rights to cod will mean for their brand…or they understand that for as long as this acquisition goes on for it prevents MS making more big acquisitions… and let’s make no mistake, for all Sonys raising console prices, they’ve been on a big spending spree this year…that they’re not finished with yet.
And this acquisition is probably the reason Xbox didn’t go for squares western devs like crystal dynamics

My hope is the deal goes something like this:

We will let you have Call of Duty for an additional 5 years minimum IF you let us off the clause you had in any contract forbidding CoD from being in a competing cloud service [Game Pass].

If the games get into game pass day one, I don't care where else the games might launch.

@GunValkyrian What multiplatform exclusives/studios has Sony been acquiring? Most of what Sony has exclusive is because their studios made it and the studios acquired have been ones that already made PS games (Insomniac, Housemarque,etc.), are new startups, or Bungie which is staying multiplatform. Since MS has had middling success (to be generous) with makng games and franchises of Sony's caliber they are going with buying them.

I have PS5 and an Xbox, so I don't have a horse in the race, but lets not act like taking a massive franchise like CoD off PS is the same as Sony putting out their exclusives.

@UltimateOtaku91 Oh so now it's changed to several years lol

Phil had already made it clear in some interviews that he can only talk about the near future, and who knows how the market looks a decade form now (paraphrasing, he might had said half a decade or next gen or something.)

Phil Spencer is a man of honour

@Tharsman would make sense for it to be this gen only, gives time for xbox to see where they stand in the gaming market in 5-6 years time and if they need to they can make call of duty exclusive at the start of next gen and give them a massive momentum shift to begin with.

“In January, we provided a signed agreement to Sony to guarantee Call of Duty on PlayStation, with feature and content parity."

Why? Sony paid to ensure that they had exclusive features for their console. Might as well return the favor.

@Fenbops I’m not convinced it’s the same at all. Destiny is not call of Duty and the exclusivity agreements / purchases Sony have made are extremely modest in comparison to Microsoft purchasing Bethesda and Activision.

The main issue for me is the vast amount of existing and already loved IP they are acquiring within those two transactions, of which they will now own and fully control - having not created any of them. Genuinely just think about how many actual well loved gaming franchises that covers.

Hoarding all of those, when they’ve historically been available on other consoles is always going to prickle regulators. And it should because it’s a risk to consumer choice - the scale of whats included in those transactions is absolutely vast.

I’m lucky to be set with a series X and a PS5 - I love both. But people need to remember that historically (away from gaming) Microsoft are no saints, and that in itself is going to bring additional regulatory scrutiny. They are - of course - in it for the money, just like everybody else.

@Serpentes420 Sony may not have bought studios to get third party exclusives, but they have spent money to block games going onto Xbox.

There is a reason Final Fantasy 7 Remake is still not on Xbox and that is Sony.

There are numerous other titles like that. And we also have learned that contracts for other games are blocking them going on Game Pass.

Sony is also notorious for paying for timed exclusives and CoD was a game they got content for over and above Xbox in the past.

Microsoft’s spending spree is a reaction to years of Sony’s antics and it isn’t hard to see how the business practice of blocking third party exclusives from the competition is not a good thing. It’s just only now people are moaning because Xbox is going to have the power to do it instead of Sony.

Ultimately, the ones who lose in the end are us the gamers.

@Kienda you contradict your own argument ‘it isn’t hard to see how the business practice of blocking third party exclusives from the competition is not a good thing’

This in itself creates competition, a third party, can enter into an agreement with any console maker, who bids, to secure timed content. Anybody can bid for it and secure it. It comes around again and again so that it can be secured next time around. Just like film or tv rights - they don’t last forever.

How is somebody permanently removing a vast amount of well loved existing IP’s and even the 3rd parties themselves from that cycle either a good thing for competition, the industry or the consumer?

It’s a fundamentally flawed perception with the scale of what’s involved.

Funny how they can be making contracts in January but when it comes to stuff like if they'll give that c*** Activision CEO the sack they can't say because the deals not done lol

Doesn’t even need to be an Xbox exclusive

Just put it on Gamepass for Free and on PS for full price.

Let the public decide what’s the better deal, either way Microsoft win because they own the property

@telepathy2000
And this is why Sony are panicking.
We all know what the obvious choice is and how this will push even more people to Game Pass and the Xbox ecosystem.

Sony just need to man up and start being competitive with their subscription service instead of getting left behind wasting money on timed exclusive games.

@SplooshDmg that’s a very fair point, and I’m sure a market leader does have far more of a dominant position in those negotiations. Also I think those relationships are built over time which is probably why Sony tend to have their way with people like square. But with your critique of what Sony are doing in the timed exclusivity space, and the impact of their dominant position, you can’t pretend that Microsoft’s solution of physically owning these companies and controlling what happens to so many well established IP’s is even in the same ball park as timed exclusivity. It’s on a much larger permanent scale, and that’s going to have far more impact on the industry and players. Genuinely with the exception of final fantasy - what huge exclusives do Sony truly have a monopoly on? Not including self developed IP’s - things like God of war - as obviously they equate to Halo / gears.

I can’t help but feel Microsoft could have made more headway into exclusivity deals if they wanted to, they sure have the cash, and thats king. I just don’t think they saw the value in paying large premiums to temporarily secure content and being held over a barrel by third parties. Their model has always been to buy, marginalise and eradicate competition. Microsoft cares about cash - far more than Sony or Nintendo do.

The thing is we are talking about a franchise that has been waning in popularity for years and isn’t the best shooter on the market. Sony will have, as part of their deal buying Bungie no doubt have them beavering away on a PS exclusive franchise to fill that hole. PlayStation has always lacked what the industry called a ‘Halo beater’ but who better to craft one than its former creators? Say what you like about the impenetrable meta game mechanics of Destiny but it’s gameplay is slicker than any other shooter on the market.

Sony should be fined for its anti-consumer practices.

Sony - fine for me but not for thee.

@SplooshDmg THIS POST RIGHT HERE NEEDS MORE LIKES!!! I get the typical "Sony is anti this and that" and they're the villain here. I know this an Xbox eccentric site. However, there are arguments for both companies. I believe this post I'm replying to really hit it. No bashing or blindly oblivious to what there own favorite platform does. Just stating the facts and how this came to be. Sony should definitely be worried. They're doing questionable things that should garner the negative press as of late. Xbox trying to fix the crap from the last generation is commendable as well. Sony just gotta step up and be competitive again, not comfortable.

@Danimal25 I hear what you're saying and it makes sense. However, I think Xbox is looking at a much broader spectrum. They want GamePass to exist for the foreseeable future. Timed deals is temporary. Xbox is thinking long term. I don't think the main idea was to purposely take games from Sony or anything like that. They're just bolstering their subscription service to be attractive to everyone. Trust me I'm not defending Xbox here. Just trying to shed some light here on their justifications.

So again, timed deals may not be beneficial to them in the long run. Securing IP and deals that benefit Xbox seems to be more key to their plans. Deals like making sure they get games like Street Fighter to come back to Xbox, and/or making sure Japanese games don't miss the Xbox platform.

That's reasonable to keep the game on platform for a few more years after contract. . Think sony's cry was realizing they won't be lead platform, they won't be getting marketing deals, DLC as selling points. That's what their cry is about, wild that they thought that would stay as is. Lol

@Danimal25 Im not sure where the contradiction is but maybe I didn’t make myself clear so I will explain a bit.

My view is that the customers lose when exclusivity deals are made. Instead of CoD being made equal in the PS4/XB1 era, Sony paid for exclusive content and game modes. The CoD gamers on Xbox, through no fault of their own, were short changed by the deal.

Likewise, if Microsoft now takes CoD away from Sony, the gamers on PlayStation will lose out.

Either way the customers are the ones losing.

My hope with this deal is that CoD exists as a multi platform title with both versions being equal.

The only change I think should happen is CoD should join Game Pass. That shouldn’t harm Sony as much and they could even bid to have it on PS+ (But I’m not sure MS will allow that).

That to me sounds fair. If Xbox has it as an exclusive then it isn’t fair.

So I’m not sure where I contradicted myself. Maybe I just wasn’t clear enough about my thoughts on that.