Call of Duty: Xbox exclusivity would cost Sony many millions

A future without CoD would be a bitter loss for Sony.

Activision Blizzard will go to Microsoft next year for almost $70 billion, at least that’s the plan. The publisher has many exciting franchises in its portfolio that could be exclusive to Xbox and Windows in the future, but one of them is by far the most important IP with annual sales in the billions: Call of Duty. If this one series were to be dropped alone, Sony would have to forego a three-digit million amount — per year.

This is how much the Call of Duty Exodus would cost Sony

According to that Wall Street Journal Without CoD, Sony would lose an estimated annual revenue of between $87.5 million and $262.6 million. For that money, the platform owner could have two or three AAA games produced for the Playstation. So the wound inflicted would definitely be painful, and Sony will do everything it can to prevent a possible migration from Call of Duty, or at least postpone it for as long as possible.

There are also passive revenue losses: The amounts quoted are just the percentage that Sony receives for each item sold through its store — it’s currently 30 percent. It is more difficult to calculate how many fewer consoles would be sold if there were no longer a CoD for Playstation. For many, the shooter series is the only or at least the most important game every year, without which they would probably reach for another console.

Just a rough estimate: The figures from the WSJ vary widely, and this already shows that it is only a rough estimate that probably ignores many details. In addition, the figures probably refer to gross sales – the net profit is likely to be significantly lower.

Of course, in addition to the units sold, microtransactions also bring in a lot of money, especially in Warzone:

1:46

CoD Warzone: Launch Trailer shows the new Pacific map

Other recent Call of Duty news:

CoD remains on Playstation for the time being

So Sony should be reassured that Xbox boss Phil Spencer has no intention of withholding Call of Duty from the Playstation community. On the one hand, this may be related to possible image damage that Microsoft would suffer, but on the other hand, it primarily brings financial advantages. While Sony would have to forego their 30 percent, it would be more than twice as much money for Microsoft with 70 percent that does not flow into the coffers. However, the question remains as to how long Spencer’s commitment will last.

We know that buying Activision Blizzard is a hotly debated topic. We ask you to always have respectful and constructive discussions with one another. Would you switch from Playstation to Xbox if Call of Duty were no longer released for Sony consoles?