Microsoft has confirmed that Call of Duty Game Pass release won’t be happening for “a number of years” due to an existing deal between Activision Blizzard and Sony Interactive Entertainment. The company had previously complained to Brazilian regulator CADE that Sony has blocked games from appearing on Game Pass. Now, it has formally noted in its reply to UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) that Call of Duty games cannot be placed on Game Pass in the near future even if the acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through.
Microsoft to honor Call of Duty agreements with Sony
In its reply to the CMA, Microsoft referred the regulator to a tweet by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, in which he said that the company will “honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard” (let’s face it, Sony will have a field day in court if it doesn’t). In the very next line, Microsoft confirms that “the agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony includes restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years.”
From what we’ve heard, there’s no Call of Duty game planned for 2023 (save for a Modern Warfare 2 campaign expansion), but Sony’s restriction covers 2024’s mainline entry.
