Making Call Of Duty Exclusive To Xbox Won't Be Profitable, Says Microsoft

Call Of Duty fans once again got a bit of assurance from Microsoft that the popular shooter franchise will, indeed, remain on PlayStation - even if the deal to acquire Activision Blizzard pushes through.

(Photo : Image via callofduty.com)
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The tech giant's reason to not make Call Of Duty Xbox exclusive is rather simple: it simply won't be as profitable to the company, as repored by GameRant. And that would make sense considering that not a lot of people have Xbox consoles (and PC too, while we're at it). PlayStation users will also rather hold on to their PS4s and PS5s instead of buying an entirely new console just to play CoD on.

Here is the company's statement sent to the Brazilian Administrative Coucil for Economic Defense (which we assume is one of the global regulators looking at the $68.7 billion ActiBlizz deal):

Regardless of how unsurprising Sony's criticism of content exclusivity is - given that PlayStation's entire strategy has been centered on exclusivity over the years - the reality is that the strategy of retaining Activision Blizzard's games by not distributing them in rival console shops would simply not be profitable for Microsoft.

That's basically corpo-speak for "we're not going the same way Sony does when it comes to exclusivity." It's also something that Team Green has basically done for years, as strict Xbox exclusives have been few and far between since the end of the Xbox 360 era. In modern times, even Microsoft's first-party games coming to Game Pass are also coming to PlayStation, so it wouldn't make sense for them to hoard Call Of Duty and keep Sony's hands off the franchise.

Microsoft also argues that making Call Of Duty an Xbox exclusive will only work if ActiBlizz' games are good enough to attract a "sufficiently large" gamer base into the Xbox ecosystem, which would help Microsoft offset the lost revenue from not distributing to rival consoles (via Video Games Chronicle). Simply put, it's nonsensical to slam the door in the face of millions upon millions of paying customers by virtue of exclusivity.

So sleep tight, CoD fans: you're not going to be forced to buy an Xbox Series X or Series S just so you could continue playing your favorite games.

Well Within Industry Norms

In truth, Microsoft keeping all of Activision Blizzard's games to itself and its Xbox ecosystem is actually what could stop the $68.7 billion deal dead in its tracks. That's basically a monopoly, if you think about it.

If Microsoft owns almost everything and won't let anybody touch it, there wouldn't be any fair competition and any other small company would be stomped.

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Game enthusiasts and industry personnel walk between the Microsoft XBox and the Sony PlayStation exhibits at the Annual Gaming Industry Conference E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 16, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Convention Center will be hosting the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) which focuses on gaming systems and interactive entertainment, featuring introductions to new products and technologies.

Furthermore, it also plays into the fact that every single Xbox console since the original one from 2001 has been sold at a loss (via PC Mag). As a multi-billion-dollar company, Microsoft still has to make money to offset the losses from over 20 years of not making a profit from Xbox console sales. And the only way they can make money is, you guessed it: software. Games.