PlayStation’s Jim Ryan Calls Xbox’s Call of Duty Promise ‘Inadequate on Many Levels’

Last week, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said new Call of Duty games will remain on PlayStation platforms for “at least several more years” after Activision’s current contract with Sony expires. Now, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan is calling Spencer’s offer “inadequate”.

In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan said he didn’t intend to comment on the business discussion until Spencer brought it into the “public forum.”

“Microsoft has only offered for Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation for three years after the current agreement between Activision and Sony ends,” Ryan said, “After almost 20 years of Call of Duty on PlayStation, their proposal was inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers. We want to guarantee PlayStation gamers continue to have the highest quality Call of Duty experience, and Microsoft’s proposal undermines this principle.”

Spencer recently confirmed that future Call of Duty entries will join Xbox Game Pass, but launch on PlayStation on the same day. There’s no timetable yet as for which upcoming Activision Blizzard games will appear on Game Pass following Xbox’s $68.7 billion acquisition of the company. Earlier this year, there were reports that Activision wanted to put Call of Duty 2022 (which is now confirmed to be Modern Warfare 2), Call of Duty 2023, and Warzone 2 on PlayStation. After that, though, the future is unclear.

This year’s Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2, is set to launch on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC, as usual. However, the Call of Duty series will seemingly see a shakeup after 2022, as 2023 will reportedly be the first year in nearly two decades without a new Call of Duty.

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, Lifewire, and more. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant, where he’s probably pleading for an F-Zero revival.