Microsoft's proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard (opens in new tab) is facing intense scrutiny from regulators worldwide, with one of the main points of contention being the future of the Call of Duty series on the PlayStation platform. To allay those concerns and seal the deal, Microsoft told The New York Times (opens in new tab) earlier this month that it has committed to a 10-year deal with Sony to continue offering the "Call of Duty" series on PlayStation consoles

Somewhat ironically, for the past few years, PlayStation owners have had an advantage over others in terms of early access to Call of Duty beta tests and other content. It seems highly unlikely that this will continue once the series comes under Microsoft's control, but Sony is more concerned that it will be cut off altogether. Shortly after the planned acquisition was announced, Microsoft said that it wanted to continue "Call of Duty" on PlayStation (open in new tab), but was not specific beyond honoring the agreement already in place.

The issue became a bit of a personal perversion in September when Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that Microsoft had guaranteed the release of Call of Duty on PlayStation consoles "for at least a few more years beyond our current deal with Sony". It appeared to be a bit of a personal perversion. That said, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said it would only be for three years after the current contract expires, which is "inadequate in many ways (opens in new tab)."

In late October, Spencer said that Microsoft would continue to release Call of Duty for PlayStation consoles "as long as there are PlayStation consoles out there to ship (opens in new tab)." This new 10-year offer is a little narrower than that, but also a little easier to nail down contractually, and speaks to Microsoft's determination to make the acquisition happen. It will also be much harder for Sony to shake off than a vague promise or a three-year commitment.

Whether it will be enough to win over regulators remains to be seen. Console exclusivity is only one issue: there are also concerns that offering Activision games on Game Pass would give the company an "overwhelming advantage" over other streaming services. In October, Microsoft announced that its deal with Sony excluded Call of Duty from Game Pass (open in new tab), which will probably expire at some point.

The Times reports that Microsoft's acquisition of Activision is being considered by 16 different government agencies. Saudi Arabia and Brazil have approved the deal, while agencies in the US, UK (open in new tab), and EU (open in new tab) continue to investigate.