According to Sony, 2023’s Call of Duty is the last PlayStation entry covered under contract and is the last game in the series guaranteed to come to PlayStation. This comes by way of a court document from the ongoing Microsoft-FTC trial, which evidently wasn’t redacted correctly.
“[T]he last game covered by the contract is a Call of Duty title to be released in late 2023,” said PlayStation boss Jim Ryan in a letter obtained by The Verge. This year’s game is reportedly Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, though it has yet to be announced by Activision.
The CoD marketing deal–which gives PlayStation users access to maps, weapons, and other additional (sometimes exclusive) content before any other platforms–began in 2015 with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3. Alongside releasing Call of Duty games on PlayStation systems, Activision used PlayStation branding in advertisements and gave the PlayStation versions special features.
Since then, PlayStation has been “the home of Call of Duty,” as stated by PlayStation’s CEO at the time, Andrew House. However, this deal was a major change when compared to the previous generation. Prior to the PlayStation deal, Microsoft had a marketing relationship with Activision, as Call of Duty map packs would launch on Xbox first.
Regardless of the deal’s expiration, it’s unlikely to impact whether Call of Duty launches on PlayStation going forward. Microsoft has stated repeatedly that it will continue to bring Call of Duty to PlayStation should its acquisition of Activision Blizzard go through. If the deal does not go through, it’s safe to assume Activision will continue supporting PlayStation.
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