Microsoft’s ABK Acquisition is a Nail in the Coffin for One PS Plus Trend

Highlights

• PlayStation Plus has been highly successful and a core aspect of Sony’s console since its launch in 2010.
• The recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft poses a threat to Call of Duty’s presence on PS Plus.
• Sony’s partnership with Call of Duty has been a defining feature of PlayStation Plus, offering early-access, exclusive content, and free titles since 2015.

The PlayStation Plus subscription service has proven to be a huge success for Sony ever since its launch in 2010, going on to become a core aspect of the console. The service has always offered a lot in the way of value, deals, and game availability for PlayStation users, although the recent record-breaking acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft poses a real threat to one of the most attractive elements of PS Plus.

In recent years, PlayStation Plus has reaped the benefits of PlayStation’s collaboration with the Call of Duty franchise, which itself is one of the largest IPs to fall under the Activision name. Call of Duty has a long history of partnership with the PlayStation Plus service, but the recent move of the franchise towards Microsoft and Xbox could be a huge blow to this defining feature of Sony’s subscription offerings.

PlayStation Plus’ Call of Duty Collaboration Will Fade Under Microsoft’s Ownership

Call of Duty is one of the titans of the first-person shooter genre, having a reign of dominance within the industry that has spanned almost two decades. In this way, it is no wonder that PlayStation and Xbox have long fought over partnerships with the franchise, with console gaming having long been considered as the core method of play for Call of Duty.

While Microsoft has had successful stints of collaboration with Call of Duty, PlayStation has had a close working relationship with the franchise since 2015, essentially leaving CoD‘s partnerships with Xbox firmly in the dust. Since then, PlayStation users have enjoyed benefits that include early-access to CoD titles, exclusive content, and in-game boosts to things like XP and Battle Pass progression.

As well as this, Sony’s deals with Call of Duty have seen many franchise titles appear on the PlayStation Plus Service, which is locked in its own close battle with Xbox’s equivalent Game Pass service. In all, these are the Call of Duty titles that have appeared for free via PlayStation Plus since 2015:

• June 2018 – Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
• March 2019 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered
• June 2020 – Call of Duty: WW2
• August 2020 – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered
• July 2021 – Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
• July 2023 – Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War

This is a fairly consistent run of Call of Duty releases that added a huge amount of value to PlayStation Plus membership, with the success of Sony’s subscription service being massively important in the current gaming landscape. The most recently released CoD title for PS Plus was 2020’s Cold War, with none of the recent Modern Warfare reboot titles coming to the service.

Microsoft May Turn the Tides Away from PlayStation Plus

Microsoft first announced its intention to purchase Activision Blizzard in January 2022, roughly coinciding with the absence of new Call of Duty titles coming to PlaySation Plus. With Microsoft now officially owning Activision and Call of Duty, it is logical to think that Call of Duty titles will now start to shift towards Xbox Game Pass as opposed to PlayStation Plus.

While it is true that Microsoft has been very upfront with keeping Call of Duty available across all platforms, the benefits of the franchise’s titles appearing on a subscription service will likely transfer completely over to Xbox in the coming years. Microsoft recently confirmed that some Call of Duty titles will be coming to Game Pass in the near future, even with the possibility of day-one appearances on the service in the near future. Though this news does bode well for Xbox players, it could mark the end of a fantastic perk of PlayStation Plus.