Outgoing PlayStation boss Jim Ryan says that Sony is “thrilled” to have negotiated a Call of Duty deal with Microsoft. Ryan made this remark while explaining to CNBC why Sony was opposed to Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard — something Microsoft claims that Sony is still campaigning against with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The importance of Call of Duty deal to PlayStation
In a video interview with CNBC (thanks, MP1st), Ryan was asked why he opposed Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard considering Sony has also acquired companies in the past in order to secure PlayStation exclusives. Ryan responded that Activision Blizzard’s case is different due to its sheer size and scale, and that Call of Duty alone is an extremely important franchise.
“We were absolutely thrilled to be able to negotiate a deal with Microsoft to ensure that the franchise remains available on PlayStation platforms for the next 10 years,” Ryan continued. “And that was very important to us and we’re very happy to have done that deal.”
When asked why Sony didn’t agree to the deal in the first place, Ryan suggested that the terms Microsoft originally offered weren’t the same as the terms that Sony eventually agreed to.
