Microsoft offer to buy Call of Duty publisher ‘inadequate’: PlayStation CEO

After tech giant Microsoft plans to keep Call of Duty (CoD) on PlayStation for three years beyond the current agreement between Activision Blizzard and Sony, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said the offer was “inadequate on many levels”.

According to GamesIndustry.biz, the disagreement between both firms follows Microsoft’s offer to buy CoD publisher Activision Blizzard in a deal worth nearly $69 billion, the report said.

Competition watchdogs are looking into the deal, and the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK is concerned about the possibility of Microsoft “withholding or degrading” Activision Blizzard’s games from competing consoles or subscription services.

Last week, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that “CoD will stay on Sony PlayStation consoles for many years”.

“In January, we provided a signed agreement to Sony to guarantee CoD on PlayStation, with feature and content parity, for at least several more years beyond the current Sony contract, an offer that goes well beyond typical gaming industry agreements,” Spencer was quoted as saying in a report by The Verge.

He did not divulge exactly how many years CoD will remain on PlayStation.

In January, Microsoft confirmed that it will allow popular first person shooter game CoD to stay on Sony PlayStation.