Phil Spencer Says COD Under Microsoft Won't Try To Do "Slimy Platform Things"

When Microsoft moved to acquire Activision Blizzard, Call of Duty fans were understandably worried that the franchise might become an Xbox exclusive. Even Sony raised that possibility in opposition to the merger before Microsoft sent a signed agreement to Sony in early 2022 that promised to keep COD on PlayStation for years to come. And while there have previously been games that were PlayStation exclusives for a year before coming to Xbox, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer recently assured COD fans that the company won't pull anything like that with this franchise.

"We didn't say to anybody you have to subscribe to play if you want to buy Black Ops," Spencer told IGN. "It's great for the developer. If you want to subscribe, it's also great. I want to give you the choice on how you play your games and who you play with and not try to do slimy platform things to force you to do what I want. You give the players choice and what they want to do and who they play with. We weren't [buying Activision] so we could pull Call of Duty from PlayStation players. It was never in our plans."

A handful of previously Xbox-exclusive games, including Sea of Thieves and Hi-Fi Rush, have recently been ported to PlayStation 5. According to Spencer, more Xbox titles will be going cross-platform in the future.

"Our commitment to our Xbox customers is you're going to get the opportunity to buy or subscribe to the game," noted Spencer. "We're going to support the game on other screens and you are going to see more of our games on more platforms and we just see that as a benefit to the franchises that we're building."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be released on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC on October 25.