Following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard (opens in new tab), sources who claim to have inside information say that the next three Call of Duty games are slated to release for PlayStation as well as Xbox consoles.
Four anonymous insiders told Bloomberg (opens in new tab) that Activision had already committed to these releases beforehand.
The three games in question are this year's title (believed to be a sequel to 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (opens in new tab)), the next COD game after that (presumably from Black Ops Cold War (opens in new tab) studio Treyarch), and a new iteration of the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone.
Xbox head Phil Spencer had previously said "Activision Blizzard games are enjoyed on a variety of platforms and we plan to continue to support those communities moving forward" in response to concerns of Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive.
He later unambiguously confirmed that Call of Duty will remain on PlayStation in a Twitter post, adding "Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship."
Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.January 20, 2022
What comes next?
It's possible that Microsoft wouldn't make Call of Duty an exclusive, since the series has traditionally sold better on PlayStation consoles – meaning potential profits would be lost if it came to Xbox only.
However, Bloomberg's sources say they have no idea what Microsoft's plans for Call of Duty will be after those three games.
It's entirely possible that these pre-established agreements are the only things keeping it on PlayStation, meaning that Microsoft will see no reason to extend them or agree to a new deal.
Microsoft's promise of not depriving PlayStation owners of certain Activision games is very similar to what it said after buying out Bethesda (opens in new tab), too.
Since that acquisition, though, the likes of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, which had been presumed to release for PS5 beforehand, are now slated only for Xbox consoles.
Making Call of Duty Xbox only would certainly be an extremely unpopular move among the PlayStation community and generate quite the backlash. But the possibility probably won't deter Microsoft in the slightest since it would only encourage more people to invest in an Xbox console.
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