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Microsoft now owns Activision Blizzard King and the Call of Duty franchise, but Microsoft is not going to limit the experience on rival platforms. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said on the Xbox podcast that he wants PlayStation, Nintendo, and PC users to feel “100% part of the community” now that Microsoft owns the Call of Duty series. Spencer said he is aiming for “100% parity” across all platforms going forward, which might mean no more platform-exclusive content.
“For Call of Duty players on Playstation and in the future on Nintendo, I want you to feel 100% part of the community. I don’t want you to feel like there’s content you’re missing out [on], there’s skins you’re missing out [on], there’s timing you’re missing out on,” he said.
“That’s not the goal. The goal is 100% parity across all platforms as much as we can for launch and content. I say as much as we can on parity because clearly some platforms have resolution and frame rate differences… but there is nothing else,” he added. “We have no goal of somehow trying to use Call of Duty to get you to buy an Xbox console.”
Spencer went on to say that Microsoft has been “on the other side” of the situation when it comes to platform exclusivity. He’s no doubt referring to Sony paying Activision for Call of Duty timed-exclusive skins and first access to beta weekends like the recent Modern Warfare 3 beta.
“I don’t think that helps the community. I don’t think that helps the game,” he said.
Microsoft–for years–paid Activision to bring Call of Duty content first to Xbox platforms. Microsoft’s deal with Activision ended in 2015, and Sony made its own deal with Activision to change this in 2015. Now, it’s come full circle with Microsoft owning Call of Duty outright.
Despite the deal closing, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has PlayStation-exclusive content that will not appear on Xbox until November 2024.
Microsoft recently cut a deal with Sony to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for at least the next 10 years. Microsoft has also discussed bringing Call of Duty to Nintendo in the future. There hasn’t been a Call of Duty game on a Nintendo platform since Black Ops II and Ghosts on Wii U.
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