I never even counted CoD among my favourite games - it was simply something of a default game to get, a baseline for a 20-something console owner like myself. I know because I used to do this myself, queuing up outside the local supermarket to get heavily discounted versions of Modern Warfare 1-3 on launch day on the PS3. It's the kind of game that many gamers who perhaps don't have the time to find their 'dream online shooter' will buy automatically - reviews and opinions be damned. Go to the house of a person who doesn't play that many games, and they're likely to have Call of Duty, some triple-A exclusives for that console, possibly an Assassin's Creed or two, and on the shelf. Iits last outing, Modern Warfare (2019), recently crossed 30 million sales, and is on course to be the most popular Call of Duty entry to date.Ĭall of Duty is in fact such a commercial franchise that it's the kind of game that more casual gamers buy without even thinking about. ![]() Just a couple of months ago, it hit 420 million historical sales, making it the third best-selling game series of all time. Call of Duty is one of the biggest game franchises in the world. “Call of Duty is so popular that it influences users’ choice of console, and its community of loyal users is entrenched enough that even if a competitor had the budget to develop a similar product, it would not be able to rival it.” They didn't exactly go public in admitting that they're feeling the weight of MIcrosoft buying up companies like Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard, but in an official response to Brazil's regulatory body ( via VGC), Sony admitted that the importance of Call of Duty "is indescribable," and effectively said that the game is capable of single-handedly swinging the console war. ![]() It’s possible they’ll now be Xbox Series X/S (and maybe PC) exclusives.Įxisting games released for PS4, such as Doom Eternal and Fallout 76, should be backwards compatible on the PS5, so there’s no fear of those titles disappearing from the platform.Until recently, Sony has done a good job of keeping quiet on the fact that Microsoft has been gobbling up some of the biggest third-party publishers in the industry, but it finally looks like Sony is starting to feel the pressure. The Elder Scrolls 6 is also in production, while a Fallout 5 announcement continues to be rumoured. It had been confirmed for PS5, but this is now in serious question, given the acquisition. The company’s next AAA franchise is Starlight, its first new IP in over ten years, which is now in full production. ![]() However, we wouldn’t bank on the big guns launching on PS5 in the near future – and for very good reason. Microsoft trailed the Sony PS4 in terms of high-profile first-party exclusives during the last generation, so the Xbox-maker will doubtless use this purchase to redress the balance somewhat.Īs well as Fallout, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Doom, Bethesda also works on the likes of Dishonored, Prey and The Evil Within with Arkane Studios and Tango Gameworks, so the future of those second-tier franchises are also in the considerations moving forward. This means that games under the Bethesda banner won’t automatically become first-party exclusives for PC and Xbox. When we talk about our content we want our content to be broadly available.” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella added: “When we think about strategy whether it’s in gaming or any other part of Microsoft, each layer has to stand on its own for what it brings. Spencer says that future releases on other consoles will be considered on a “case-by-case basis.” It appears that the first two Bethesda games previously announced as timed-exclusives for the Sony PS5 will indeed remain as such. The already-announced Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo will respect the status quo, with Microsoft’s Head of Xbox Phil Spencer telling Bloomberg it plans to ‘keep the commitment’.Īs for everything else, all bets are off. ![]() Well, right now the future is entirely unclear. However, where does that leave Sony PS5 buyers hoping to play future instalments of the Fallout, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls and Doom franchises games on the next-gen console they may have pre-ordered? That’s almost certainly going to lead to a boost in Xbox Series S/X exclusives. Microsoft has struck another early blow in the next-generation console war with its purchase of Bethesda Softworks, which makes and publishes some of the world’s biggest and most popular gaming franchises.
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