Call of Duty console exclusives will end, Microsoft pledges

It’s time to lay your weapons down, the console exclusives that have defined Call of Duty are finally over. And that includes Xbox exclusives, too.

When Microsoft finalised its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, thus finally allowing it to take hold of a franchise that has favoured blue over green, CoD players suspected Xbox would shift towards Xbox exclusives having been in the dark for so long. After all, a lot of CoD skins have been PS exclusives, with beta weekends and game modes always placing PS gamers on a higher rung up the ladder than other fans.

Don't forget to watch the Modern Warfare III trailer.

Call it payback, albeit it a petty one. Yet, Microsoft is better than schoolyard tactics, and has promised to cease all console exclusives moving forward. In a recent Xbox podcast, Xbox’s Phil Spencer ensured that that message came through clearly, in no uncertain terms, “I want players on PlayStation and in the future on Nintendo, I want you to feel 100% a part of the community”.

“I don’t want you to feel like there’s content that you're missing, skins that you’re missing, there’s timing that you’re missing out on, that’s not the goal. The goal is 100% parity across all platforms.”

Spencer is true to his word. PlayStation has already lost an exclusive Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II skin, with both Xbox and PC gamers now able to enjoy said perk as well. For those who brandish their chests to reveal the giant PS fanboy tattoos they’ve regretfully had, this is a hard pill to swallow. But, personally, I think this is a fantastic move that will ultimately put yet another nail in the coffin of the ridiculous console wars that refuses to wave its white flag.

Not that all battles will end, as seen by the fans losing their minds over futuristic weapons being included in Modern Warfare III. When one pointless argument ends, another raises up in its place, and thus the cycle continues.