Sony has claimed that Microsoft’s track record with Starfield is evidence that it should not be relied upon to keep Call of Duty cross-platform.
Recently, Microsoft has pledged to put Call of Duty on more platforms should its acquisition of Activision Blizzard go ahead, even signing a deal to put Call of Duty on Nintendo platforms for a decade. The company also said that Call of Duty would be on the next PlayStation console, and even offered PlayStation a decade-long deal to keep the shooter series on its consoles (which Sony turned down).
However, Sony is now looking to Microsoft’s track record to discredit its new offerings. In a recent statement to the UK government’s Competition and Markets Authority (opens in a new tab) agency, Sony pointed to Microsoft’s past statement to the European Commission that it “would not have the incentive” to limit the availability of games made by Bethesda on various platforms.
Starfield is now obviously a console exclusive for the Xbox Series X/S, removing it from coming to PlayStation platforms. Sony believes that Microsoft has reneged on this statement made to the European Commission by making Starfield a console exclusive to one platform, and therefore the company should not be trusted to honor its agreements regarding Call of Duty and other Activision Blizzard franchises.
It’s worth noting that Starfield never explicitly declared itself a PlayStation game. There were several years between Starfield’s announcement and its big gameplay reveal last year where news about the game went quiet, and in that time Bethesda never confirmed which platforms the game would be coming to in the time of release
Sony believes the implication of a cross-platform PlayStation release for Starfield was there, though, which is what their argument is now based on. The UK CMA has yet to deliver a final verdict on Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, so it remains to be seen whether Sony’s statement will have a material impact on the agency’s final verdict.
Head to our upcoming Xbox Series X games guide to get a full look at all the confirmed games coming to Microsoft’s console so far.