Microsoft pledges to stop console-exclusive Call of Duty content

Microsoft's green hands are finally grasping the Call of Duty series, which has been emitting a rather blue glow for so long.

In recent years, Call of Duty has been leaning towards Sony and PlayStation in its favouritism scales, with exclusive Beta weekends, PS-only skins, and even dedicated game modes specifically for the Sony platform.

But now, with Microsoft's record-breaking $69 billion acquisition, Call of Duty is stopping all console disparities, and this even rules out Xbox exclusives too.

• Modern Warfare developers hit back at Zombies critics

Phil Spencer pledges that Call of Duty will not have platform-exclusive content

Now that the ownership group are combined, many fans expected Call of Duty to start lifting the lid on Xbox exclusives. Instead, Xbox head Phil Spencer has doubled down on his previous stance that no bonus features will come to their own platform.

"I want players on PlayStation and in the future on Nintendo, I want you to feel 100% a part of the community," Spencer said in an Xbox Podcast. "I don’t want you to feel like there’s content that you're missing, skins that you’re missing, there’s timing that you’re missing out on, that’s not the goal."

"The goal is 100% parity across all platforms," he added. This is a win for PlayStation owners who were worried the record-breaking deal would lock them out. It also quells those fears that Xbox is going to have a monopoly on the whole industry. 

• Microsoft is already hiking up the price of Call of Duty

Phil Spencer vows to end Call of Duty platform exclusives

Click to enlarge

The end to PlayStation exclusives appears to be dawning a new era for Call of Duty, as previous PS-only skins are reportedly being shared out to Xbox and PC players now, too.

Spencer continued to claim that it will be some time before Xbox gets any CoD bonuses such as Game Pass access, as he confirmed it will be 2024 by the time the series lands on the subscription service.

This does mean that new Betas won't have a weekend free access on specific platforms, which will see a different approach come into play when the supposed Gulf War-based Black Ops game comes out in 2024.