Sony Fears Microsoft Will Bug Call of Duty on PlayStation After Activision Acquisition

Sony is concerned that Microsoft may be planning to intentionally introduce bugs into Call of Duty games on PlayStation following the possible acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Sony has expressed these concerns to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is investigating the possible acquisition, according to a newly published document.

Concerns

Sony is concerned that Microsoft will lower the quality and performance of Call of Duty games on PlayStation consoles in comparison to the same games on Xbox consoles. The company is also concerned that the price of Call of Duty games will rise only on PlayStation consoles, and that the franchise will become available only through Game Pass.

Sneaky Bugs

Sony has hinted that Microsoft may release a PlayStation version of Call of Duty in which bugs and glitches appear in later levels or after subsequent updates. This would lead to a loss of trust in PlayStation as a place to play Call of Duty, and solutions would almost certainly be too late.

Sony suggests that canceling the deal or keeping the Call of Duty franchise separate would be the best way to combat this risk.

PlayStation Plus

Microsoft has stated to Eurogamer that it wants to keep the Xbox and PlayStation versions of Call of Duty games equal in response to Sony's concerns. 

Microsoft even intends to make future Call of Duty games available on PlayStation Plus on the day they are released. This was revealed in the company's recently released response to the CMA's findings.

"Any Call of Duty game that is available on Microsoft's subscription service is eligible to be available on Sony's subscription service - simultaneously and during the same time period," Microsoft stated.

The future

On the one hand, Sony's concerns are understandable, as Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard would give Microsoft control over some of gaming's most recognizable franchises.

However, Microsoft has already made numerous statements and signed numerous contracts to ensure that Call of Duty will not be exclusive to game pass or anything similar, so it remains to be seen what CMA thinks of this new argument.