Sony may have accidentally revealed how much revenueCall of Dutyfunnels into PlayStation in a poorly redacted document. The details came to light amid the ongoing FTC v. Microsoft hearings, whereSony has been vocal about Microsoft’s actions includingStarfieldexclusivityand the Xbox Game Pass subscription. Now, a new revelation hints at just how muchCall of Dutyrepresents financially to the PlayStation platform.
Over the past few months, the Activision Blizzard franchise has taken center stage in the case against Microsoft’s pending $68.7 billion acquisition. Sony has repeatedly voiced its opposition to the idea of Microsoft owningCall of Duty, with complaints ranging from thequality degradation of futureCall of Dutytitles on PlayStationto potential exclusivity to Xbox entirely. However, even as Microsoft offered both verbal and written commitments that franchises likeCall of Dutywould be shipped to other platforms like PlayStation for the foreseeable future, Sony’s concerns don’t seem to have receded. Now, following the FTC v. Microsoft case, Sony might have unintentionally provided an explainer as to why the company continues to raise concerns over the Activision Blizzard deal.
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So far, the ongoing FTC v. Microsoft hearings have unveiled, according to one of Jim Ryan’s letters, thatCall of Dutyhas seemingly generated over $800 million in revenue for PlayStation in the United States alone and as much as $1.5 billion worldwide, in 2021. The letter also suggests thatCall of Dutyplayers on Playstation have spent an average of $15.9 billion annually from 2019 to 2021, accounting for hardware, accessories, subscriptions, games, and other PlayStation services. Though, it shouldn’t be surprising considering that about 1 million PlayStation gamers play nothing butCall of Duty, according to Jim Ryan’s poorly redacted letter.
Of course, it wasn’t just Sony that had issues thanks to the Activision series. According to an email sent to Xbox chief Phil Spencer,Bethesda raised concerns after Microsoft promised to keepCall of Dutyon PlayStationwhere Bethesda’s Global Marketing SVP Pete Hines inquired about Microsoft’s logic on retaining exclusivity and carrying out multi-platform projects. The issue was raised following Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax Media and its decision to pull some of Bethesda’s projects from PlayStation for Xbox and PC exclusivity.
In addition toCall of Duty, the PlayStation CEO also commented on Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass subscription service during the FTC v. Microsoft hearings.Jim Ryan believes that Xbox Game Pass is destructiveand that all publishers “unanimously do not like Game Pass.” When inquired about his statements, the CEO responded stating that he holds conversations with publishers frequently and that their opinion against Game Pass is a “commonly held view.” In any case, it remains to be seen how things will work out with regard to the Activision Blizzard deal, though it’s apparent that Sony is unlikely to back down on its opposition either way.
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