PlayStation has always had a strong and fruitful relationship with Call of Duty. The majority of the series’ marketing push came from Sony, who invested a significant amount of its marketing budget to promote each new entry on its platform over the competition. It would frequently obtain exclusive Operator skins and other perks not just for its existing user base, but also to incentivize newcomers to pick up a PlayStation over an Xbox.
Frankly, these exclusive perks would anger fans, so much so that some are likely glad to see PlayStation all but abandon Call of Duty now. However, PlayStation fans are likely worried, wondering what will fill the void now that PlayStation’s Call of Duty era has come to a swift and frankly inescapable end. Fortunately, there’s little to worry about, as, not only does this hugely benefit PlayStation anyway, but Sony has already found a new game to take COD’s place.
PlayStation Isn’t Marketing Call Of Duty Like It Used To
Those Days Are Officially Over
PlayStation no longer has a contractual obligation to invest heavily in Call of Duty’s marketing. Its deal with Activision – which once saw it receive the ability to heavily market the game with its branding in return for reduced royalties – is over now that Xbox owns the developer. That means all the PlayStation exclusive perks are gone, alongside the adverts claiming PlayStation is the best place to play Call of Duty.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that COD is an Xbox exclusive, nor that it still isn’t best played on a PS5. However, it does signal the end of an era, something that may be a sore spot for hardcore Call of Duty fans exclusively playing on PlayStation. It is perhaps more disheartening to those who also don’t have the option to access it via Xbox Game Pass due to the ridiculous price increases. Now, there are few ways of getting any meaningful advantages for prioritizing one platform over another.
However, for Sony, this isn’t a particularly big deal. You may expect the company to be languishing considering just how heavily it had invested in the series prior to Xbox’s newfound ownership of it. Yet, it turns out that not only is the end of this era for Sony a good thing, it may actually be hugely beneficial in the long run, especially after new reports reveal just how COD fans are spending their money.
Call Of Duty Would Be Bad For PlayStation
The Old Deal Would Hurt It Right Now
PlayStation had to take quite the financial hit in order to get the priority support from Activision. However, that doesn’t seem necessary anymore, especially as COD sells better on PlayStation than it does on Xbox. During Black Ops 6’s launch month, it sold 82% of its copies in the US on PlayStation. In Europe, 89% of the game’s physical copies were sold on PlayStation 4 and 5.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone even remotely following Xbox’s business decisions over the last few years. It has purchased a significant number of third-party developers, ported numerous first-party exclusives to Xbox, and has, on occasion, announced a multi-platform release for some of its biggest titles, like The Outer Worlds 2. We now even have Gears of War on PlayStation, and there are rumors of a PS5 Halo port circulating online.
Ultimately, Xbox is well aware of how much better games sell on PlayStation, as significantly more people own a PS5 than a Series X/S. That was also the case with the last generation as well, meaning Xbox has been on the back foot for well over a decade. Sony no longer needs this deal with Activision to ensure people buy Call of Duty on PlayStation, and frankly, it has felt like it hasn’t needed it for quite some time. Regardless, it seems like Sony has found another game to support in Call of Duty’s place.
PlayStation Is Going All In On Battlefield 6
Ads Are Appearing On Buses, Billboards, You Name It
Sony has clearly invested heavily in Battlefield 6’s marketing, perhaps even striking a similar deal with EA that it had with Activision. Fans have spotted billboard signs across North America with both the Battlefield 6 key art and the PS5 logo. In the UK, similar adverts with both BF6 imagery and the PS5 logo have been appearing on the sides of buses. Naturally, PlayStation has also been uploading trailers to its official YouTube channel, including a Launch Hype Trailer most recently.
All of this shows clear signs of a strategic pivot from Call of Duty to Battlefield 6, a game that many believe will beat COD this year thanks to the innovations it is bringing to the table. It is a smart move in the grand scheme of things as Sony has little to offer of its own when it comes to the multiplayer FPS market, especially after Concord flopped last year.
Perhaps Battlefield 6 will now become PlayStation’s choice of shooter, or perhaps it has just struck up a deal with EA for this entry alone to test the waters. Of course, there is an argument to be made that Sony’s lack of involvement in Call of Duty’s marketing could end up having a negative effect, and that the aforementioned high sales on PlayStation consoles were only as a result of this marketing push.
However, it does feel like Xbox has, more or less, bowed out of the console wars whether it likes it or not. With false, yet prevalent rumors circulating about Xbox canceling its next console, it is clear that fans don’t have the faith in the brand that they once had. Game Pass’ price increase also potentially threatens to jeopardize the little goodwill Xbox had. Ultimately, Sony is done with Call of Duty, and that may not be the worst outcome in the world, especially as it doesn’t seem to be affecting users.
- Released
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October 10, 2025
- ESRB
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Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, In-App Purchases, Users Interact
- Developer(s)
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Battlefield Studios
- Engine
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Frostbite
- Multiplayer
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Online Multiplayer, Online Co-Op
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
