Microsoft and Sony have agreed to keep 'Call of Duty' on PlayStation following its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer confirmed the new deal between the rival console makers over the weekend.
He tweeted: "We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and @PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games."
Sony previously expressed how dismayed it was that Microsoft was allegedly only planning to keep 'Call of Duty' on PlayStation until 2028.
Despite Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer penning a letter to PlayStation president Jim Ryan pledging to keep 'Call of Duty' on the PlayStation for "several years" to come, Ryan claimed this was not the case and branded the rival firm's proposal "inadequate on many levels".
He said: "Microsoft has only offered for 'Call Of Duty' to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends. After almost 20 years of 'Call Of Duty' on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers."
Ryan added to GamesIndustry.biz.com: "I hadn’t intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum.
"We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality 'Call Of Duty' experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle."
The letter was sent earlier last year, with Spencer officially putting the promise in writing.
Last week, it was confirmed that the UK’s regulator will reassess Microsoft’s bid to merge with Activision Blizzard.
The Competition and Markets Authority previously blocked the $69 billion deal - which is set to be the biggest in gaming history and to allow the tech giant to offer the 'Call of Duty’ developer's back catalogue of titles on their Xbox cloud service - citing concerns about unfairness for the rest of the industry but is now looking into its ruling after a US federal court blocked the Federal Trade Commission from stopping the deal.
A spokesperson for the watchdog revealed that it's going to complete a “full and proper consideration” of the takeover by August 29, after getting a “detailed and complex” proposal it had received from the Bill Gates-founded tech giant.
