Yesterday on July 16, Microsoft and Sony announced a binding 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles until 2033. You'd be forgiven for thinking this deal included other Activision-published gaming franchises like Overwatch and Tony Hawk, but The Verge was able to clarify that the deal is exclusively limited to Call of Duty, and Call of Duty only.
This immediately raises the wild prospect of Activision's other games being excluded from PlayStation launches. The likes of future Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Tony Hawk, and new Overwatch games could well be Xbox exclusive after Xbox acquires Activision Blizzard because the 10-year deal with PlayStation leaves out all these other franchises.
The possibility really isn't sitting well with fans of each of the series's. Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Tony Hawk have always been franchises associated with PlayStation for decades at this point, so it's only natural that fans around the world are scratching their heads at the franchises heading away from PlayStation for good, never to return.
bro no more Tony Hawk or Crash Bandicoot on playstation!? im struggling to make sense of it. wild times. https://t.co/w5ZWMB5Bh8
— Gene Park (@GenePark) July 16, 2023
There's also a lot of people decrying a perceived Xbox monopoly on gaming in general. Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, and Tony Hawk being brought under control of a company that already owns a vast slew of its own major gaming franchises, not to mention Bethesda's blockbuster games like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6, isn't going down well with plenty of people.
There's even World of Warcraft players bemoaning the fact that its console release could be limited to Xbox platforms. Not that Blizzard or Activision have ever confirmed that World of Warcraft will be available on any platform outside PC, mind you, but there's still people getting themselves into a twist over the mere possibility.
The signing of this new deal at least shows the two companies have found some common ground in the days since the Federal Trade Commission lost its bid to block the merger. With the FTC losing out, Microsoft is now officially cleared to acquire Activision Blizzard in the US at least, although the UK remains as a major roadblock to the deal being approved around the world.
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Related Forum: Xbox Forum
Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/crash-bandicoot-and-tony-hawk-could-become-xbox-exclusives-despite-new-call-of-duty-deal/
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