PlayStation x Call of Duty partnership ends after 9 years

Prior to the PlayStation partnership, Xbox had a long-standing relationship with Activision.

Call of Duty 2 was an Xbox 360 exclusive and was never released on PS3. Then, Xbox struck a major marketing deal for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare in 2007. This allowed Xbox users to get DLCs a month earlier than other platforms, along with other exclusive content. It was a historic partnership, but it came to an end in 2015.

PlayStation took over the marketing rights. Players received early Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 map packs, early access to betas, and other content for 9 years.

Then Microsoft acquired Activision, promising to honor all existing Call of Duty agreements post-acquisition. Now, the deal with PlayStation has come to an end. 

As CharlieIntel notes, PlayStation-exclusive operators and bundles for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 expired on November 9. Microsoft has pledged that moving forward, Call of Duty will maintain parity across Xbox, PlayStation, and other platforms, meaning no exclusive betas, maps, or other content for Xbox or any other platform.

However, there is one exception. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is available on Xbox Game Pass for Xbox and PC. This is a massive advantage over PlayStation, but one that was entirely expected—and likely why Microsoft was so eager to invest a colossal sum into Activision. 

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Cover author: Activision. Cover source: Comicbook