Phil Spencer, the ‘Head of Xbox’, has gone on record talking about the recent closure of the Microsoft x Activision Blizzard acquisition. In a clip that is circulating online, Spencer was addressing the future of Call of Duty, stressing quite explicitly that no aspects of Call of Duty will retain exclusivity going forward. That includes the launch dates for content, any skins, missions, or even beta dates.
It’s a goal to deliver ‘100% parity’ across all platforms, which Spencer said includes Xbox, PlayStation, PC, and in the future, Nintendo. There’s a desire to offer every player in the ‘Call of Duty nation’ the same experience, regardless of how or where they play. It’s particularly welcome news for the fans who were irritated by the recent Modern Warfare III beta being made available on PlayStation platforms up to a week before other platforms got access to it.
100% Parity for All Involved
Phil Spencer was speaking on an Xbox Podcast, and during his interview, he stressed that there’s no desire to use Call of Duty to leverage gamers into buying an Xbox console. Despite having full ownership of the franchise now, Microsoft will not use those licenses in what could be deemed a malicious manner. Those were the concerns of the regulators that attempted to block the deal from going through in the first place, and Microsoft could face legal action if it were to backtrack and make anything about Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox.
Related: COD Games Planned Until 2027
In his interview, Spencer said:
‘We have no goal of somehow trying to use Call of Duty to get you to buy an Xbox console. I want the Call of Duty nation to feel supported across all platforms. We’ve been on the other side of that — even this beta, it wasn’t on Xbox for the first week. I don’t think that helps the community.’
Thanks to CharlieINTEL for the clip:
It’s important to stress that Spencer also referenced the arrival of Call of Duty on Nintendo. This was said to be a definite and done deal once the acquisition cleared successfully, and now that it has, it means that COD’s games will wind up on Nintendo devices in the near future.
Do You Agree With Parity?
With no exclusivity, that means that PlayStation won’t get unique Operators, Xbox won’t get earlier access to beta phases, and PC won’t get special skins. It’ll be the same thing for every platform, regardless of what that ‘thing’ might be. Spencer was quick to point out that there are some differences, though. For instance, certain platforms will be able to play Call of Duty at a higher frame rate or resolution – but that’s a difference from a technical standpoint and they’re not really tied into ‘exclusivity’.
Of course, that’s something that was addressed during the lengthy trial between Microsoft, Activision Blizzard, and the likes of the FTC and the CMA. It was suggested that Microsoft could ‘make COD run worse’ on PlayStation platforms to drive traffic to the Xbox ecosystem, but it was stated that, unequivocally, this isn’t going to be a thing.
Time will tell if that turns out to be true, but at this point, Spencer seems sincere.
Stay tuned to Esports.net for more Call of Duty news
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