‘Call Of Duty’ will continue same-day launches for PlayStation and Xbox

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has confirmed that future Call Of Duty titles will launch on PlayStation the same day they are released on Xbox, addressing concerns that Microsoft will use its ownership of Activision Blizzard games to harm competition within the games industry.

Today (September 1) Spencer released a new blog post detailing Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard and shared what fans of its franchises can expect from the merger following concerns of console exclusivity (via Eurogamer).

Spencer confirmed that the company intends to make Overwatch, Diablo, and Call of Duty available on Game Pass when the buyout is completed. The Xbox head also affirmed that Xbox is “committed to making the same version of Call of Duty available on PlayStation on the same day the game launches elsewhere.”

“We will continue to enable people to play with each other across platforms and across devices,” Spencer added, suggesting future cross-play. “We know players benefit from this approach because we’ve done it with Minecraft, which continues to be available on multiple platforms and has expanded to even more since Mojang joined Microsoft in 2014.”

The blog post follows today’s news that the acquisition is facing scrutiny in the UK. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has reportedly voiced concerns that Microsoft‘s ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard may “harm rivals” and “damage competition.”

A CMA statement said that the acquisition could harm rivals “by refusing them access to Activision Blizzard games or providing access on much worse terms.” The statement added that it had received evidence about the potential impact the deal could make on the broader ecosystem.

Microsoft and Activision Blizzard will have five days to address the watchdog’s concerns, otherwise, a Phase 2 Investigation will be launched by the CMA.

In other news, Biomutant might be coming to Nintendo Switch in October, according to an online listing.