Microsoft Says It Wouldn't Be Able to Sabotage Call of Duty on PlayStation

Microsoft says Sony has no reason to worry about an inferior version of Call of Duty launching on PlayStation consoles, should the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard acquisition go through.

In its latest submission to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, Microsoft responded to Sony's concerns that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard would sabotage the PlayStation version of future Call of Duty titles. In its filing, Microsoft referenced a new remedy proposal that addresses Sony's concerns of a "worse version of CoD titles on PlayStation consoles".

Microsoft claimed that its current proposal would would actually encourage the Call of Duty developers and publishers to create a PlayStation version that's optimized for the platform.

"As Microsoft will be shipping CoD on PlayStation in compliance with its remedy commitments... Microsoft will have every incentive to develop games with optimised support for PS5 features, such as haptics, and future consoles in order to maximise sales on the platform."

Elsewhere in the document, Microsoft also wrote about the length of its proposed 10-year deal to Sony, saying, "Microsoft considers that a period of 10 years is sufficient for Sony, as a leading publisher and console platform, to develop alternatives to CoD."

Earlier this month, a separate document submitted to the UK's CMA included comments from Sony voicing concerns about the future of Call of Duty. The company was concerned that Microsoft could raise the price of Call of Duty on PlayStation, prioritize the Xbox version, or release a buggy build of the games on PlayStation.

Call of Duty has been the main point of contention during Microsoft and Sony's battle over the Activision Blizzard acquisition. Sony has said the proposed 10-year Call of Duty offer will "irreparably harm competition", while Microsoft has signed agreement after agreement to bring Call of Duty to nearly every platform under the sun, including Nintendo Switch. Sony has also said Battlefield can't keep up with Call of Duty and claimed that "Game Pass leads PlayStation Plus significantly."

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.