Call of Duty, Overwatch and Diablo will come to Game Pass, but Microsoft still guarantees that there will be CoD on Playstation
In a note from Phil SpencerCEO of Microsoft Gaming, has announced some of the plans that the company has for Activision Blizzard franchises that did not yet have a clear destination within the plans of the company. In this way, it has announced that Microsoft’s intention is to bring the company’s great sagas, ‘Overwatch’, ‘Diablo’ and ‘Call of Duty’ (in addition to the rest of the Activision library, although it does not specify which specific sagas) , to your subscription service GamePass.
Microsoft wants, according to this announcement, to corroborate that “subscription services like Game Pass make games more affordable and help gamers around the world find their next favorite game. Game Pass allows developers to bring more games to more players, not less”. Of course, it also guarantees that Call of Duty, as promised at the time, will continue to be a multiplatform saga, and “being available on Playstation on launch day.”
Its purpose, says Spencer, is “to continue to allow people to play games across platforms and across devices.”and mentions ‘Minecraft’ as a clear case of a franchise that has grown in its cross-platform spirit even more since Microsoft bought Mojang in 2014. It also mentions “mobile phones and any connected device” as a priority to continue growing in different areas, in clear reference to cloud gaming where Microsoft wants to continue growing. It’s clear that taking the tentacles of Game Pass far beyond the mere realm of the Xbox ecosystem is a priority for Microsoft.
Problems in the UK
Meanwhile, Microsoft may run into a bit of a hurdle in the UK, where the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has pointed out that you are concerned that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard purchase agreement could “harm rivals, including recent and future gamers, by denying them access to Activision Blizzard games or giving them access under much worse conditions.”
Hence Spencer’s guarantee that ‘Call of Duty’ will continue to arrive on Playstation from the day of its release as promised. In any case, the body will extend the investigation to a second phase, so that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard guarantee that free competition is not being violated.
Spencer’s statement, in fact, has come on the same day that the CMA speaks of this concern, and in that sense Spencer clarifies: “We will continue to interact with regulators in a spirit of transparency and openness as they review this acquisition. We respect and we welcome difficult questions being asked. (…) We believe a thorough review will show that the combination of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will benefit the industry and gamers”
