Microsoft has revealed some new data on Sony’s ongoing deal with Activision for Call of Duty.
As recapped by Idas on Resetera, a DealReporter article already shared some of these details, for no less than Sony’s ongoing deal with Activision for Call of Duty.
This is what the DealReporter piece says:
“Microsoft disclosed in its CMA filings that under Sony’s current exclusivity contract with Activision, Call of Duty would be exclusive to PlayStation for a period of 30 days, while one version of the game was exclusive for a period of one year.”
For those wondering, this is not a result of the subpoena that was served to Sony. That subpoena was served by Microsoft as part of the FTC case that that regulator filed vs Microsoft to stop this deal. Sony delayed responding to that subpoena as much as possible, but the FTC court eventually ruled that Sony will have to share evidence to Microsoft, with some limitations.
We do expect some details to eventually leak from this subpoena evidence in one way or another. The FTC themselves may choose to release parts of this evidence to the public. While some details may be stricken out, they may find that this would be worth serving the common good.
They court may also choose to not share any details at all. But insiders involved in the case seem eager and willing to share whatever details they want to share. Of course, Microsoft will be eager to share what they can, one way or the other.
While some observers and gamers may be looking forward to that information being disclosed, what we are talking about comes from Microsoft communications with the CMA. It’s likely that Microsoft already knew about these deals for Call of Duty games on their own.
Actually, this paragraph may be referring to prior Call of Duty games that Sony had made for PlayStation as was under their current agreement with Activision. It may seem decades ago now, but it actually wasn’t that long ago that Call of Duty games had timed exclusivity that ranged from 30 days to a year.
There is still a possibility that this refers to the upcoming Call of Duty games that will be the last one under that current contract between Sony and Activision. That could be the rumored standalone Call of Duty for this year, that was supposedly spun off from being Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II DLC.
Lest we forget, no less than Microsoft president Brad Smith revealed that the Sony Call of Duty contract ends on 2024. Microsoft has truly taken the gloves off, as they have started sharing these details even before they got their hands on the subpoena documents.
