While Xbox may now own Call of Duty, head of Xbox Phil Spencer has promised 100% parity between Microsoft’s console and the PlayStation 5 versions of future games.
At the time of writing, PlayStation still has a deal for exclusive CoD skins, early access to DLC and even premium console bundles that Xbox gamers do not. Since 2015, Sony has paid for CoD benefits on PlayStation that used to be on Xbox.
In a recent episode of the Xbox podcast, Phil Spencer revealed that no platforms will have exclusive features or content over the other. Instead, every console and available platform for Call of Duty — including PC and cloud gaming — will receive the exact same content.
“For Call of Duty players on PlayStation, and in the future Nintendo, I want you to feel 100% a part of the community,” Spencer explained on the podcast. “I don’t want you to feel like there’s content you’re missing out, skins you’re missing out, there’s timing that you’re missing out on… that’s not the goal.”
Spencer explained that the term “100% parity” is only in terms of content, such as maps, modes, skins, etc. There will be some graphical differences and performance changes between some platforms, but that’s common in multi platform game development.
“Clearly some platforms have resolution and framerate differences, just based on performance, but there’s nothing else,” Spencer said. “We have no goal of somehow trying to use Call of Duty to get you to buy an Xbox console. I want the Call of Duty nation to feel supported across all platforms.”
Spencer explained that Xbox players have been on the other side of this anti-parity fence for years now with the recent Modern Warfare 3 beta releasing a week later on Xbox consoles. However, with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Spencer wants to make sure everyone “feels 100% part of the Call of Duty nation.”
Modern Warfare 3 will be the last game in the CoD series to see major benefits on PlayStation. While the game has a few glaring issues — such as an inconsistent time to kill and bizarrely NERF gun-feeling weapons — it’s still shaping up to be another brilliant entry in the series.