Sony has made a new reveal that first-party games like God of War, Horizon Forbidden West, The Last of Us and Marvel’s Spider-Man might not have existed without it. Obligation. The claim came in one of the supporting documents filed during the latest round of arguments regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Sony’s Call of Duty revenue funds games like God of War
Although the exact numbers were redacted in the CMA Phase 1 response report, detected by Derek Strickland and Twitter, Sony says Call of Duty players spend at least around $1 billion on PlayStation hardware, peripherals, subscriptions, games and other services. If these players were to leave the PS5 for the Xbox, it would reduce Sony’s ability to invest in future hardware and games. Specifically, it would “reduce the potential return from producing innovative original games, which would reduce SIE’s ability and incentive to invest in new games.” In other words, it’s much more unlikely that games like God of War would exist without Call of Duty present.
A previous survey has already revealed that more gamers have chosen the PS5 for Call of Duty than for first-party games. Ongoing spats have seen Sony and Microsoft meet to discuss a potential future deal, although concessions could even see Call of Duty dropped from the deal entirely.