PlayStation Unhappy With Xbox's Call of Duty Offer | GameSpot

Sony thinks Microsoft's commitment to COD on PlayStation is "inadequate," the Xbox is getting a UI overhaul, a new Battlefield game is in development, and the Witcher 3 will be coming to current gen this year.
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PlayStation fires back at Microsoft’s claims regarding Call of Duty exclusivity, the Xbox UI is getting an overhaul, new Battlefield games, and more on today’s GameSpot news.

Mom and Dad are fighting! PlayStation boss Jim Ryan has responded to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer saying his company would go above and beyond industry standards and keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for years to come if the Xbox company's acquisition of Activision Blizzard goes through.

Ryan told GI.biz that Microsoft offered to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation for specifically three years after the existing deal between Activision and Sony finishes. Ryan said this was "inadequate on many levels."

"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."

We don't know, however, what the duration of the previously agreed-upon deal between Sony and Activision for Call of Duty was. But whatever that is, it'll be extended by three years, apparently, but what happens after that is unclear. Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard is currently being reviewed by regulatory bodies around the world. New Zealand will be among the next countries to weigh in, with a decision due by September 9.

Speaking of Microsoft, the company is looking to give the Xbox UI a makeover, with a number of changes planned that will roll out as experiments for Xbox Insiders over the next few months.

A key new feature is a planned "jump back in" row, which is designed to give players quick access to their most-recently-played games and apps. System apps like Settings, Store, Search and My Games & Apps will be easier to access as they will have their own tiles on Xbox Home. Microsoft notes that the rollout will be slow to start, and that Xbox will be iterating throughout the process, but a full launch of the new UI is planned for sometime in 2023.

While Xbox and PlayStation bicker over Call of Duty, Battlefield has been making some moves. Marcus Lehto, who designed Master Chief and co-created the Halo universe, is heading up a brand-new Battlefield studio in Seattle. Electronic Arts announced that the studio is called Ridgeline Games, and it will develop a "narrative campaign" for Battlefield. Very little is known right now, but EA said this campaign will "engage fans in new and exciting ways while remaining true to the classic elements of the series."

Another big announcement was that Battlefield creative director Lars Gustavsson, who has worked on the Battlefield series since it started in 2002, is departing the team.
Despite hiccups at launch, the series’ latest entry Battlefield 2042 was the fifth best-selling game of 2021 in the US. With these announcements, EA reiterated that it wants fans to know that EA is "all-in on Battlefield." The company has DICE continuing to work on Battlefield's "multiplayer suite," EA said, while another studio Ripple Effect will create an "entirely new Battlefield experience that will complement and build upon the series' foundations."