Microsoft has confirmed that its newly-signed Call of Duty deal with Sony will last for at least 10 years. In an attempt to convince regulators to approve its acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has been signing commitments to bring Activision-published games to more platforms. This includes bringing Activision games to competing cloud gaming platforms, as well as bringing Call of Duty to rival consoles.Microsoft previously signed an agreement with Nintendo to bring Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch, and it offered a similar deal to Sony. Sony refused to sign the agreement in hopes that regulators would block Microsoft's attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard. While there have certainly been some roadblocks, Microsoft now has the go-ahead to close its Activision Blizzard acquisition, bringing all the company's games under its umbrella.While Sony did not sign the previous deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for at least 10 years after the acquisition, it has since signed. Specifics as to what the deal entailed are not available publicly, but Microsoft did confirm the 10-year detail to The Verge's Tom Warren. Technically, this means Call of Duty could become Xbox exclusive in a decade, though it's hard to see that happening.
Call of Duty is such a massive blockbuster hit that it wouldn't make much financial sense to keep it off PlayStation consoles, even after the 10-year deal is up. It seems likely that it will be treated more like Minecraft, which Microsoft owns but still releases on its competitors' platforms. Then again, the gaming landscape could look completely different 10 years from now, so who's to say what will happen to Call of Duty after the 10 years is up.
It's likely that this deal means Call of Duty games are guaranteed for the next-generation PlayStation console, the PlayStation 6. The court battles over Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard revealed that the next-generation of consoles is likely to launch in 2028, which is well within the 10-year timeframe. However, there is one potential issue when it comes to bringing Call of Duty to PS6 when the time comes.
Sony has said that it may have to withhold PlayStation 6 development kits from Activision Blizzard after the Microsoft deal goes through. The logic behind this is that it would effectively be giving its competitor access to inside information about its new console. However, it may be worth the risk to ensure that Call of Duty comes to the next PlayStation console on the same day as whatever the next Xbox ends up being called.