Microsoft is committing to keeping Call of Duty connected PlayStation for “several much years” beyond the existing selling woody Sony has with Activision. Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox main Phil Spencer made the committedness successful a written missive to PlayStation caput Jim Ryan earlier this year, and it’s the clearest motion yet that Call of Duty won’t abruptly vanish from PlayStation platforms if Microsoft’s $68.7 cardinal deal is approved by regulators.

“In January, we provided a signed statement to Sony to warrant Call of Duty connected PlayStation, with diagnostic and contented parity, for astatine slightest respective much years beyond the existent Sony contract, an connection that goes good beyond emblematic gaming manufacture agreements,” says Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer successful a connection to The Verge.

Exactly however galore years Call of Duty is guaranteed connected PlayStation inactive isn’t crystal clear, but Bloomberg originally reported earlier this twelvemonth that Microsoft was committed to releasing Call of Duty connected PlayStation “for astatine slightest the adjacent 2 years,” suggesting that Sony’s selling woody for the franchise could expire successful 2024. Microsoft past publicly committed successful February to keeping Call of Duty “available connected PlayStation beyond the existing statement and into the future.”

Call of Duty is 1 of Activision’s biggest-selling franchises. Image: Activision

Call of Duty fans inactive statement implicit whether Microsoft could technically marque the crippled an Xbox exclusive if the Activision Blizzard woody finalizes. Microsoft’s latest connection doesn’t code what happens aft those “several much years,” but it’s wide the institution is consenting to warrant Call of Duty connected PlayStation for a longer than accustomed play than it contractually has to.

Part of that committedness volition beryllium to easiness fears from regulators who are analyzing Microsoft’s $68.7 cardinal woody to get Activision Blizzard. Lawyers for Sony and Microsoft person been arguing implicit the value of Call of Duty successful documents submitted to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) regulator, and it’s plainly a sticking point.

Sony claims it would beryllium hard for different developers to make a franchise that rivals Activision’s Call of Duty and that it stands retired “as a gaming class connected its own.” Microsoft argues it’s not arsenic important arsenic its rival makes it retired to be. The world is determination successful the middle. Microsoft has besides argued successful these documents to CADE that not distributing games similar Call of Duty astatine rival console stores “would simply not beryllium profitable” for the company.

Microsoft says a strategy of not distributing Activision Blizzard games connected rival consoles would lone beryllium profitable if the games could pull a precocious fig of players implicit to the Xbox ecosystem, resulting successful gross to compensate for losses from not selling these titles connected rival consoles.

Bethesda’s upcoming Starfield crippled is present exclusive to Xbox and PC. Image: Bethesda

The fears astir Xbox exclusivity for Call of Duty person besides been stoked aft Microsoft acquired Bethesda past year. Microsoft promised to clasp existing contractual agreements with Sony for Deathloop connected PlayStation but went connected to marque Redfall and Starfield Xbox and PC exclusives.

Call of Duty contention fears person besides played a large portion successful the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) moving to analyse Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal much closely. The CMA is moving to a signifier 2 probe that volition spot it name an autarkic sheet to find whether Microsoft’s power implicit games similar Call of Duty and World of Warcraft could harm rivals.

The conflict implicit Call of Duty between Xbox and PlayStation has existed for arsenic agelong arsenic the franchise has. Sony famously secured a deal for other Call of Duty downloadable contented for PlayStation fans successful 2015, aft Xbox had been the accepted location for Call of Duty. That conflict volition surely proceed arsenic lawyers for Microsoft and Sony proceed to reason astir Call of Duty, and regulators effort to determine precisely however important it truly is.