While the two biggest console companies fight over who will get Call of Duty and who won’t, the rest of us have, at least, been given an estimated time frame of when Microsoft expects next-gen consoles to release.
During the court proceedings of Microsoft vs the FTC, Microsoft had to explain the 10-year commitment that they would have with Sony to release Call of Duty games to them should Microsoft acquire Activision.
Microsoft said this would overlap with the next-gen consoles planned to launch around 2028.
“This term would in any case go beyond the expected starting period of the next generation of consoles (in 2028)… Thus, Call of Duty will be published on successor PlayStation consoles should one be released during the term of the agreement. The agreement also would ensure that Call of Duty console games are offered on PlayStation at parity with Xbox.”.
The 2028 date given by Microsoft aligns with a 2027 date Sony brought up in November last year during the same trial, where they said “at least 2027”.
Currently, the FTC is trying to impose a preliminary injunction on the acquisition. If it goes through, it would put the whole thing on hold while the FTC reviews the transaction’s compliance with the antitrust law.
Now we’ll just have to wait five years to find out what the next-gen consoles hold in store for us. In the meantime, I’ll be happily playing on my current-gen console.