Microsoft reaches deal to keep 'Call of Duty' franchise available on PlayStation

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Microsoft announced Sunday that the company has signed an agreement that will keep the "Call of Duty" video game franchise on PlayStation after the tech giant completes its pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

The availability of "Call of Duty" games on PlayStation consoles had been in question as regulators scrutinized Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, a company that owns the best-selling franchise. The Federal Trade Commission had argued that Microsoft could curtail consumers’ access to the video games for which it obtains the rights amid the acquisition by taking "Call of Duty" off rival platforms like Sony’s PlayStation and incentivizing gamers to buy Microsoft’s Xbox.

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a tweet, "We are pleased to announce that Microsoft and PlayStation have signed a binding agreement to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation following the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. We look forward to a future where players globally have more choice to play their favorite games."

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Microsoft announced a deal Sunday that will ensure the best-selling "Call of Duty" video game franchise remains available on PlayStation after the tech giant acquires Activision Blizzard. (Ethan Miller / Getty Images / File / Getty Images)

"From Day One of this acquisition, we’ve been committed to addressing the concerns of regulators, platform and game developers, and consumers," tweeted Brad Smith, Microsoft president and vice chair. "Even after we cross the finish line for this deal’s approval, we will remain focused on ensuring that Call of Duty remains available on more platforms and for more consumers than ever before."

Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
MSFT	MICROSOFT CORP.	410.54	+1.20	+0.29%
ATVI	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
SONY	SONY GROUP CORP.	78.35	-3.30	-4.04%
NTDOY	NINTENDO CO. LTD.	11.76	-0.64	-5.16%

The announcement comes after Microsoft announced a deal with Nintendo this year to license "Call of Duty" and other Activision Blizzard titles to Nintendo for 10 years. The "Call of Duty" franchise hasn’t been available on Nintendo systems since 2013 when "Call of Duty: Ghosts" was playable on Wii U.

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The Federal Trade Commission is appealing a court ruling that allows Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard to go ahead. (Pavlo Gonchar / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Regulators in the U.S. and Europe have scrutinized Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard over concerns the deal would undermine competition. However, the deal appears on track to proceed after European regulatory bodies granted their approval and a U.S. court ruling dealt a blow to the FTC’s case against the merger.

Last Tuesday, a federal district court judge in California ruled that the FTC couldn’t block the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard and rejected the regulator’s claims that allowing it to proceed would undercut competition in the marketplace.

The FTC filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday following the decision. The appellate court rejected the FTC's appeal on Friday.

Activision Blizzard's "Call of Duty" games are among the top-selling video game franchises. (Reuters / Carlo Allegri / File / Reuters Photos)

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At a House Judiciary Committee hearing the following day, FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan said that "this matter is still pending before the FTC in administrative adjudication. So, I’m just going to be limited in what I can say about the merits. Our complaint lays out the staff’s view of what this merger would result in and why that would be a law violation."

Reuters and FOX Business’ Julia Musto and Joe Toppe contributed to this report.