The fate of the next Call of Duty games being playable on PlayStation consoles is at a knife's edge.
PS CEO Jim Ryan recently called out the offer of his counterpart at Xbox, Phil Spencer, saying it is "inadequate" for the PlayStation community.
The offer follows Microsoft's plan to acquire Activision Blizzard, the game-developing company that created the Call of Duty franchise.
PlayStation-Xbox Offer Falling Out Details
Although Ryan mentioned in his statement to GamesIndustry.biz that he didn't plan on commenting about the business discussion as he understood that it would be a private one. However, as Spencer brought the proceedings into the "public forum," he felt he needed to set the record straight and reveal why he called his counterpart's offer inadequate.
According to the PlayStation CEO, Microsoft offered to let Call of Duty remain on the PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony had ended.
However, following the game being playable on the console for almost 20 years, he found it inadequate "on many levels" as well as a failure to take into account the period's impact on gamers n the PlayStation console.
"We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft's proposal undermines this principle," Ryan said.
The proposal Ryan mentioned is the same one Spencer sent to him on Monday, the proposal that mentioned Microsoft and Sony agreed to keep the game on PlayStation beyond Activision's deal with Sony has ended, per Polygon.
Unfortunately, even with the existence of the signed proposal, Ryan believes it still isn't enough of a guarantee for the franchise's future on PlayStation consoles.
Despite these deals not being a guarantee, Microsoft and Sony will probably continue with these semi-public negotiations. For Microsoft's part, it is a chance to show regulators it isn't acquiring Activision Blizzard to prove it isn't monopolizing franchises like Call of Duty.
Meanwhile, Sony can use these talks to get a more favorable deal with Microsoft while it is under extra pressure from regulators to guarantee it isn't creating a monopoly.
Will Call of Duty Be an Xbox-Exclusive Game?
Although regulators are afraid that Microsoft might make the Call of Duty franchise an Xbox exclusive, it may not happen at all, if Microsoft is to be believed.
You may remember that Spencer released a blog post showing how beneficial its acquisition of Activision Blizzard will be for the gaming industry.
According to Spencer, Microsoft is committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day it launches elsewhere, citing its acquisition of Mojang Studios' Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms.
According to The Verge, Spencer mentioned that prohibiting Activision Blizzard from distributing Call of Duty games to rival console stores "would simply not be profitable" for both companies.
Spencer added that an Xbox-exclusive Call of Duty game would only happen if it would attract enough players to offset the loss from doing so.
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