PlayStation has blocked Call of Duty from Game Pass, says Xbox

As Microsoft has been fighting for its $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision to go through, a whole lot of interesting information has made its way to the surface. For starters, Microsoft revealed that it apparently doesn't consider Activision to make any "must have” games, arguing that making any of Activision’s games Xbox exclusives (yes, including Call of Duty), “would simply not be profitable”.

You may also remember that earlier this year, Microsoft claimed that Sony has been preventing some developers from putting their games on Xbox Game Pass. In a filing to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) back in August, the company wrote that Sony pays for so-called “blocking rights” to prevent certain games being added.

While you're here, check out some third-person gameplay from Modern Warfare II below.

“Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been hampered by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth,” Microsoft wrote, translated from Portuguese (via The Verge). “Sony pays for ‘blocking rights’ to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services.”

Now though, it seems we know one big franchise which has been affected by these so-called “blocking rights”. As reported by ComicBook, The Verge’s Tom Warren posted a tweet in which it’s claimed that an agreement between Activision and Sony has placed “restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years”. 

We kinda knew this already, but Microsoft makes it clear that Sony's deal for Call of Duty includes "restrictions on the ability of Activision Blizzard to place Call of Duty titles on Game Pass for a number of years." https://t.co/BfdfbE1Ae7 pic.twitter.com/37nEXYjfuj

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) October 18, 2022

If true, this is a pretty huge claim. It was previously revealed that Sony believes that Call of Duty “influences users’ console choice”, which the company deem to be “an essential game: a blockbuster, an AAA-type game that has no rival”. 

“No other developer can devote the same level of resources and expertise in game development. Even if they could, Call of Duty is overly entrenched, so that no rival – no matter how relevant – can catch up,” Sony previously said. 

Despite Sony’s concerns about Call of Duty becoming an Xbox exclusive, Microsoft has reiterated that the acquisition won’t affect the franchise “for at least several more years”.