Xbox Boss Phil Spencer Tells Judge ‘I Will Do Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Call of Duty on PlayStation
Microsoft has previously said it wouldn’t withhold Call of Duty from PlayStation consoles if the Activision Blizzard acquisition goes through, but Xbox head Phil Spencer said today that the company’s FTC lawsuit has been filed. Doubled the point with strong words inside.
On the second day of the trial, Jacqueline Scott Corey sternly reminded Spencer that he was taking oaths and asked if Microsoft really would continue to ship Call of Duty to PlayStation.
“I would raise my hand. I will do whatever it takes,” he told the court. “We have no plans. I stand here and swear that we will not pull Call of Duty off the PlayStation. This is my testimony.”
“Like you said, Sony obviously has to allow us to ship games on their platform,” he continued. “But barring such things, it is my promise and my testimony that Sony will continue to ship future versions of Call of Duty on his PlayStation 5.”
This is in line with Spencer’s previous remarks about Call of Duty’s exclusivity, which he said last year that Call of Duty will continue to ship to PlayStations “as long as there are PlayStations to ship to.” And in an email uncovered in court yesterday, PlayStation head Jim Ryan responded to the news that Microsoft intends to acquire Activision Blizzard, saying, “We’ll be calling on PlayStation for years to come. I’m sure you will continue to watch Of Duty.” .
The issue of console exclusivity has been a frequently raised issue in the first few days of the trial, and yesterday the FTC set its sights on Microsoft’s 2021 acquisition of Zenimax. And today, Spencer claimed there was no PS5 version of Minecraft because Sony didn’t send the dev kits to Microsoft.
To learn more about the trial, check out our summary of what you need to know so far.
Alex Steadman is IGN’s senior news editor and oversees entertainment coverage. When she’s not writing or editing, she can be found reading fantasy novels and playing Dungeons & Dragons.
