Following a very careful statement from Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, now we know that Call of Duty will not leave the PlayStation platform once the purchase of ActivisionBlizzard by Microsoft. Assuming, of course, that the regulatory bodies give the green light. However, it is possible that the Redmonds do change something that has distinguished the war franchise for a very long time.
According to Bloomberg, during the purchase negotiation between Microsoft and Activision the possibility of abandoning the annual releases of Call of Duty. If the franchise has been distinguished for something, it is precisely because every year we can enjoy a new installment. However, it is also true that the latest games, except for the reboot of Modern Warfare, have left players somewhat disappointed.
One of the reasons that could cause this change has to do, in fact, with extend development timelines to deliver higher quality titles. On the other hand, but no less important, situations of labor overexploitation would be avoided in order to finish projects on time. Call of Duty is so big that Activision has never considered delaying a game beyond the last quarter of the year, and on more than one occasion they have been involved in accusations of crunch.
Longer development time, higher quality
“There is a belief among many developers of Call of Duty about what launching games at a slower pace will please gamers and will help strengthen the franchise. The slowdown in the release schedule of Call of Duty can lighten the intense workloads of developers and could provide new opportunities for Activision game creators to work on other titles, “says the report of Bloomberg.
The second statement is significant. Why? Nowadays, Nearly every Activision studio is involved, to a lesser or greater extent, in Call of Duty. However, this has been an imposition on the part of the publisher, not a voluntary decision on the part of the studios. Obviously, Microsoft does not intend to acquire Activision Blizzard just to cash in on Call of Duty; each studio has talent and can work on other intellectual properties.