Summary
The PlayStation exclusivity deals withCall of Dutyhave officially come to an end after a nine-year streak. Microsoft forged the original timed exclusivity deal withCall of Duty, securing Xbox 360 gamers early access to new multiplayer maps. 2014’sCall of Duty: Advanced Warfarewas the last game with Xbox timed-exclusivity, with PlayStation stepping in from 2015’sCall of Duty: Black Ops 3onward.
PlayStation’sCall of Dutyexclusivity deals have proven to be significantly more controversial than Xbox’s. Whereas the Xbox deals kept PlayStation gamers from getting newCall of Dutymultiplayer maps for about one month at a time,PlayStation’s deals have kept entire game modesfromCoDfans on Xbox for a year or more. Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has brought an end toCall of Duty’s PlayStation exclusivity deals, with the last one now having run out.
Modern Warfare 3’s PlayStation exclusive contentis now free to release on other platforms. And assuming Microsoft sticks to its promises about not giving Xbox any exclusiveCall of Dutycontent, the era ofCoDexclusivity is officially at an end. Moving forward,Call of Dutyfans should be able to expect all the same content no matter what platform they play on. Of course, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any benefits to playingCall of Dutyon Xbox over PlayStation. The big one, of course, is thatCall of Dutyis on Xbox Game Pass, meaning Xbox gamers don’t have to pay anything beyond what they already do for their subscription to get the full game.
The Era of Call of Duty Exclusivity Deals is Over
This is great news forCall of Dutyfans that don’t want to have to choose what platform they play on based on these deals. It’s also a positive for future platforms thatCall of Dutymay find itself on. After all, Microsoft has alsoinked a promise to Nintendoto bring theCall of Dutyfranchise to its platforms as well.
Since signing thatCall of Dutypledge with Nintendo, Microsoft still has yet to bring anyCoDgames to the Switch. Many have assumed thatCall of Dutywill be coming tothe Switch 2instead, though nothing to that effect has actually been announced at the time of this writing. If futureCall of Dutygames come to the Switch 2, fans shouldn’t have to worry about Nintendo’s platform getting any exclusive content, as that era ofCall of Dutyis over.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
WHERE TO PLAY
Forced to go rogue. Hunted from within. This is Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.Developed by Treyarch and Raven, Black Ops 6 is a spy action thriller set in the early 90s, a period of transition and upheaval in global politics, characterized by the end of the Cold War and the rise of the United States as a single superpower. With a mind-bending narrative, and unbound by the rules of engagement, this is signature Black Ops.The Black Ops 6 Campaign provides dynamic moment-to-moment gameplay that includes a variety of play spaces with blockbuster set pieces and action-packed moments, high-stakes heists, and cloak-and-dagger spy activity.In a best-in-class Multiplayer experience, players will test their skills across 16 new maps at launch, including 12 core 6v6 maps and 4 Strike maps that can be played 2v2 or 6v6.Black Ops 6 also marks the epic return of Round-Based Zombies, the fan-favorite mode where players will take down hordes of the undead in two brand-new maps at launch. Post-launch, players can look forward to even more exciting maps and groundbreaking experiences dropping into both Multiplayer and Zombies.
