Phil Spencer: “Same Version” of Call of Duty “Will Be Available on All Platforms,” Including All Cosmetics & Modes

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As the MicrosoftActivision deal approaches the make-or-break stage of regulatory scrutiny across the world, Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox head Phil Spencer has reiterated that “the same version” of Call of Duty “will be available on all platforms” including Nintendo consoles, should the deal go through. Spencer has also shot down platform-exclusive cosmetics or story content in the style of Hogwarts Legacy, saying “no skin on a gun” or any mode of the game will be exclusive to a particular platform.

Microsoft has been making big moves concerning the multi-platform future of Activision Blizzard’s franchises across the industry to appease regulators. Last month, Microsoft President and Vice Chairman Brad Smith announced two separate deals with Nintendo and Nvidia to bring the Call of Duty franchise to both companies’ services and hardware, with Nvidia’s GeForce Now getting other Xbox franchises and games as well.

In a new interview, Xbox head Phil Spencer discussed what Microsoft’s promises of content and release date parity with the Call of Duty franchise entail, making comparisons to the Microsoft-owned Minecraft property and referencing Avalanche Software’s Hogwarts Legacy:

[With the acquisition,] we want to increase the places where people can play Call of Duty; I think, a little bit like Minecraft. I think when we acquired Minecraft, our monthly active player base was 20-30 million[…] and I think it’s about maybe a 120 million now. […] With Call of Duty, I think we’ve made some specific agreements with Nintendo and with Nvidia, to ensure the game can show up in more places. And you obviously don’t make the game bigger by taking it away from anybody. […] We expect to hit a certain level of quality on all of [our] games; the level of quality that PlayStation players expect. So that’s our goal [with Call of Duty,] and the same thing on PC [and on] Nintendo.

So when we say “available everywhere” or “not exclusive,” we want to make absolutely the best version of Call of Duty for any players on any of those platforms. […] I sit here today with a great game that’s come out in the last couple of weeks – Hogwarts Legacy – and yes, there is a quest that’s available on PlayStation and not available on Xbox, […] and I know this is part of the industry. That’s not the game we’re trying to play here either [with Call of Duty.] It’s not about a skin on a gun; it’s not about a certain kind of mode of the game. The same version of the game will be available on all platforms. […] That’s really what we do today. If you’re a Minecraft player on PlayStation, I don’t think you feel like you have the lesser version. [That also goes for] Minecraft Dungeons or Minecraft Legends.

While legal troubles between Microsoft and the FTC continue in the U.S., the UK CMA’s inquiry deadline of April 26 is fast approaching. The CMA provisionally found significant anti-competitive potential in the deal in early February, but whether or not it has changed its mind about Microsoft’s intentions remains to be seen.

You can watch the entire video interview below.

Stay tuned here at MP1st for all news and announcements concerning Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Source: Xbox On 

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