Call of Duty may be Xbox exclusive after the next three games

After Microsoft announced its plans to buy Activision Blizzard for Xbox, gamers and analysts were wondering if the hugely popular Call of Duty shooter would become an Xbox exclusive. According to one New Bloomberg Reportwe finally have our answer: The next three Call of Duty games will be released on PlayStationBut the future of the franchise is murky after that.

According to the report, four people familiar with Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition (they spoke anonymously, as they were not authorized to speak to the press) stated that before the deal was announced, Activision Blizzard had plans to throw it in. The next three games in the legendary Call of Duty saga on PlayStation. This includes a new Modern Warfare title due out in 2022, another Call of Duty title currently in development by Treyarch, and a new version of the free-to-play Battle Royale game Call of Duty: Warzone.

That is, the confirmed games for the PlayStation are: COD2022, COD2023, and Warzone 2 (in 2023). In 2024, agreements with Sony will expire and Microsoft will be able to make the franchise exclusive or suspend marketing and exclusive content agreements after launch.

This news comes on the heels of recent comments made by Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, in which he announced Microsoft intent to honor existing Call of Duty contracts. “You confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements in the acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.”These are Spencer. “Sony is an important part of our industry and we value our relationship.”

Beside thats “Current Call of Duty Agreements”It’s not clear if future titles in the franchise will be released on PlayStation. For example, the majority of Call of Duty players are on PlayStation, which means Microsoft will likely leave a lot of money on the table if they make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox consoles. On the other hand, the fact that Call of Duty is an Xbox exclusive is likely to prompt many players who don’t have plans to buy an Xbox to consider buying one, bringing more players into the Xbox ecosystem.

Microsoft expects the acquisition to be completed by the middle of next year, so in the end we won’t know for sure what Microsoft plans to do until the deal is finalized and its decision publicly shared. We’ll likely find out if Microsoft plans to discontinue annual Call of Duty releases once the purchase goes into effect.