A report has suggested that the next three Call Of Duty titles, including a “new iteration” of free-to-play battle royale Warzone, will still be coming to PlayStation.
This is according to a Bloomberg (paywall) report, which got word from four people with knowledge of the deal. So despite Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard for £50billion, this year’s potential Modern Warfare sequel, Treyarch’s next game, and “a new iteration” of Warzone will all be coming to PS4 and PS5.
Microsoft is already honouring (as it has to) the timed exclusivity deal around Deathloop, which despite being a Microsoft owned title – as ZeniMax was bought out by Microsoft in 2020 – is currently only available on PS5. Although this will likely change as the timed exclusivity ends later this year.
Last week Xbox chief Phil Spencer did say that he’d spoken to Sony, and confirmed the company’s intent to keep Call Of Duty on PlayStation, but this could absolutely change once Activision Blizzard’s contracts run out the clock.
This comes amidst news that the Raven QA strike has ended, pending recognition of the Game Workers Alliance (GWA) union. Activision Blizzard has not voluntarily recognised the union, meaning more action is needed. The developer has also reorganised the QA staff, meaning they no longer work in one department together.
Raven Software QA staff formed the GWA in an effort to protect and fight for its staff, saying it wants to work “on improving the conditions of workers in the video game industry by making it a more sustainable, equitable place where transparency is paramount.”
Elsewhere, Star Wars Battlefront 3 is not in development. This follows news of three new games in the Star Wars universe, and reports that developer DICE is too busy with Battlefield.
In other news, Halo Infinite is now the “biggest launch in Halo franchise history,” according to Microsoft.
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