"Company that built their name through exclusives": Community blasts PlayStation for objecting Xbox's plans with Call of Duty

PlayStation has been at a difficult space with talks of Call of Duty becoming exclusive (Images via Activision, Sony)
PlayStation has been at a difficult space with talks of Call of Duty becoming exclusive (Images via Activision/Sony)

Call of Duty continues to be in a tug of war between Xbox and PlayStation as the two brands continue to and fro about the potential exclusivity of the franchise.

Sony has a long history with the games belonging to what's considered one of the most iconic in the gaming industry. However, there's been an air of uncertainty ever since it was announced that Microsoft would acquire Activision Blizzard and all its titles.

The deal is far from over as it's pending reviews from several organizations and committees. Phil Spencer has repeatedly reiterated that Call of Duty will likely continue to be there on the PlayStation.

Since then, Jim Ryan has mentioned that the games will likely be available on their console for a limited period, and they aren't okay with that.

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This has amused the community as Sony has been known to push for exclusives. They have made certain titles exclusive on the consoles they have invested. As the debates and speculations rage on, some find Ryan's statements quite hypocritical, given what he has pushed for in the past.


Call of Duty and social media communities feel PlayStation shouldn't oppose the exclusivity of Xbox

Twitter user MrMattyPlays had some exciting thoughts based on recent developments. It's pretty odd that Jim Ryan and PlayStation feel that Xbox isn't leaving enough room when it comes to Call of Duty being available on their consoles.

The reason for that is the way Sony has consistently pushed for exclusives wherever possible. Several Xbox first-party games can be easily played on PC and are also part of the Xbox Game Pass. When it comes to PlayStation, the numbers are few and far between, and it's only recently that they have changed their strategy.

Naturally, the community also expressed their thoughts about the entire saga, which started at the very beginning of 2022. This is something that's been expected given how big Call of Duty is as a franchise, and in short, it's a money-printing machine.

One user believes Sony could still have access to the Call of Duty franchise even after the three-year window. However, Microsoft can restrict its access for a fixed period before allowing it.

Another Twitter user believes that Xbox knows the added advantage of keeping the franchise available to as many players as possible. The monetary incentives could be the deciding factor in keeping the option open from their end.

One person contradicted the above response by stating that making the franchise exclusive will also have its benefits. It could potentially allow Microsoft to take advantage and leverage its consoles and subscription services better.

The scale of the game and the titles in the discussion could also seem to be a factor. One fan feels that the exclusives of PlayStation come nowhere close to the financials of Call of Duty, which could be considered an industry leader.

Some believe that the pull of Activision's franchise could even incentivize players to switch from one brand's console to another.

One Twitter user thinks that how Jim Ryan reacts is quite natural, considering that they're companies and industrial houses. Every company will react when there's something that could potentially threaten its dominance in some areas.

As mentioned earlier, Sony has even pushed for exclusivity on IPs that their first-party studios don't create.

This was an interesting suggestion that Sony might have made as a strategic error. As pointed out by one person, they have narrowed their releases to certain genres. While there's no doubting the quality of titles like Horizon Forbidden West or God of War, a variety is missing somewhere.

The deal is expected to go through sometime in 2023, which means Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 will be available on all the platforms. What happens post that will be interesting as the rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation has never been greater.

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Edited by Srijan Sen
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