Phil Spencer says Xbox’s aim with COD is to give players choice, not ‘do slimy platform things’

Phil Spencer has reiterated Xbox‘s aim to make Call of Duty available to all players, making a second allusion to previous PlayStation COD practice in the process.

In an on-stage interview at IGN Live, the Microsoft Gaming CEO was discussing the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, and how it motivated the team to find new players, when the topic of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 coming to Game Pass was brought up.

Spencer replied that playing the game on Game Pass was one of numerous ways to play the game, and that he wasn’t interested in using “slimy” exclusivity tactics to make players opt for a specific platform.

“It’s a choice,” he explained. “We didn’t say to anybody ‘you have to subscribe to play’.

“If you want to buy Black Ops 6, that’s great. It’s great for us, it’s great for the developer. If you want to subscribe, it’s also great.

“I want to give you the choice on how you play your games, and who you play with, and not try to do slimy platform things to force you to do what I want you to do.”

The comment was the second time that day that Spencer had alluded to previous PlayStation Call of Duty exclusivity deals.

Starting with Black Ops 3 in 2015, PlayStation enjoyed a series of exclusivity deals with Activision in which PlayStation players would receive the likes of DLC maps, beta access and in some cases entire modes (like Specs Ops Survival in Modern Warfare) as timed exclusives, lasting anything from a week to a year.

After showing the first Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 trailer during the Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday, Spencer referred to the previous exclusivity deals, implying that Xbox wouldn’t be taking the same action despite now owning Activision.

Further reading

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New details revealed ahead of a dedicated showcase on Sunday

“It’s been 10 years since Call of Duty has been in our show,” Spencer said. “It’s been even longer since all Call of Duty players got the same game at the same time.

“Going forward, everyone will experience the game, including the Black Ops 6 beta, the season expansions and the updates, at launch.”