Sony’s latest argument that Microsoft could sabotage future Call of Duty games by making performance even slightly worse on PlayStation has raised eyebrows. Sony believes that gamers are so perceptive that even a slight change in performance would be enough for them to move to Xbox. While this may be true for some, it’s highly unlikely that a single Call of Duty blip on PlayStation would result in someone switching consoles entirely.
Sony has cited articles from Digital Foundry and VG Tech that compare the performance of Modern Warfare II on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X / S, suggesting that if there are even the “slightest changes in a game’s performance” players will convene in forums, chatrooms, and gaming sessions to discuss it. While this is true, Microsoft and Activision may just prioritize fixing bugs on Xbox first because developers are more accustomed to it.
With the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) initially citing Minecraft as an example of a game that Microsoft continued to license the title to other platforms after acquiring it, Sony has argued that this is not a fair comparison to make as Minecraft is “very different from Call of Duty” and “does not drive anything like the level of gameplay, engagement, or purchasing decisions as Call of Duty.”
It remains to be seen if Sony will sign off on Microsoft’s 10-year Call of Duty licensing deal. However, with Sony’s argument that Microsoft could sabotage future Call of Duty games by making performance even slightly worse on PlayStation, it’s clear that Sony is taking this matter very seriously.