Sony thinks people would buy an Xbox for Call of Duty

Sony has tipped its hand slightly about what it thinks of Xbox acquiring Microsoft, thanks to recently uncovered comments it’s supplied to the Brazilian regulator looking into the deal.

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Unlike some other processes, all of the information supplied to Brazil’s regulator has to be made public, which has let some eagle-eyed users on Resetera unearth Sony’s thoughts.

The responses it supplies run a wide range of contexts, but some particularly juicy sections address the importance of Call of Duty specifically, and how it impacts on the console marketplace.

In particular, Sony effectively bigs up the franchise massively, accurately describing it as the single biggest gaming franchise going, one that has enormous resources behind it and routinely sells in huge volumes.

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It calls the game “essential” and says that the brand is so powerful that it almost certainly influences gamers’ choice of console when they come to buy. This is obviously aimed at the possibility that Xbox could make COD a console exclusive at some point down the line.

The document in question, which you can access from the list here, is in Portuguese labeled as “E-mail Sony (Resp. ao Of. 4108/2022 + procuração)”, but translates fairly neatly, and contains some interesting insights into just how much of a juggernaut Sony views COD as (or, at least, how much it wants this to be seen as the case).

What this translates to for the regulator is hard to guage at this stage – but it might impact on Xbox in some way. We know that the next couple of COD games will hit PlayStation consoles due to existing contracts, and Microsoft has indicated it might continue after that, but nothing is certain.

Had good calls this week with leaders at Sony. I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry, and we value our relationship.

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022

Whether that still rings true years down the line is hard to say, but it’s something that regulators will doubtless consider in multiple jurisdictions as they look into the Xbox-Activision deal.