Sony Expects Activision Blizzard Games to Remain on PlayStation

Sony hopes that Microsoft will honor existing "contractual agreements" and expects Activision Blizzard games to remain on multiple platforms.

A Sony spokesperson said, in an article written by the Wall Street Journal, that they "expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform."

The question of exclusivity regarding some of Activision Blizzard's most well-known IPs was no doubt one of the biggest to arise from news of the recent acquistition. On Jan. 18, Microsoft announced that they would be purchasing Activision Blizzard in a deal worth $68.7 billion. This follows on from Microsoft's earlier acquisition of ZeniMax which saw iconic Bethesda franchises fall under the Microsoft Gaming banner.

As for Activision Blizzard, the studio helms some of gaming's biggest franchises such as Call of Duty and Overwatch. IPs that have been almost synonymous with PlayStation in the past, such as Crash Bandicoot, now find themselves under Microsoft's guidance. Naturally, this throws up the question if we'll still see these games on PlayStation in the future, or if they'll now be reserved exclusively for Xbox players.

This new statement from Sony, however, should serve to reassure fans - at least for the time being. With certain contractual agreements in place, it seems unlikely that Microsoft would pull the rug out fron underneath PlayStation players. In the past, the company has been pretty good at abiding by exisiting agreements.

Sony Expects Activision Blizzard Games to Remain on PlayStation

David Cole, owner of analyst firm DFC Intelligence, who spoke with gamesindustry.biz believes that if Call of Duty were to become an Xbox exclusive "it would be hard to get it past regulators if they want to lock the competition out."

It's understandable if fans are somewhat skeptical of Microsoft's intentions; many believed that, despite being acquired, Bethesda's big hitters would still make their way to other platforms. Since then, however, Starfield has been confirmed as an Xbox exclusive, with The Elder Scrolls 6 likely to head in the same direction.

Regardless, it's still early days. While the community is still very much reeling from the news, speculations will no doubt be rife. For now, though, it seems the ball is very much in Microsoft's court.