A newly unsealed email revealed that PlayStation’s Boss Jim Ryan was actually aware that Microsoft’s Activision deal was not about Xbox exclusivity.
According to reliable insider Tom Warren, a newly unsealed email revealed a certain exchange between Sony’s PlayStation Chief Jim Ryan and former CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Chris Deering discussed the announcement of the Microsoft-Activision deal last year.
“It is not an exclusivity play at all,” said Ryan. “They’re thinking bigger than that and they have the cash to make moves like this. I’ve spent a fair amount of time with both Phil [Spencer] Bobby [Kotick] over the past day and I’m pretty sure we will continue to see Call of Duty on PlayStation for many years to come.”
This shocking revelation is quite the opposite of what Sony would say in an argument against the deal and its filings with regulators. Sony usually would say that this deal could make the Call of Duty franchise exclusive to Xbox only and even sabotage the PlayStation versions.
“We have some good stuff cooking,” he said talking about Sony’s recent acquisition of Bungie which the company announced after this email got sent. “I’m not complacent, and I’d rather this hadn’t happened, but we’ll be OK, we’ll be more than OK.”
Deering replied that he was not worried about this deal. “… but I am not losing a wink of sleep over the future for our baby. Hope you agree.”
It seems the PlayStation side was already confident that this would not affect them at all, but do note that this was an exchange that happened during the deal was announced.
Also Deering jokingly said that Microsoft “would have been better off announcing a new Electric Car.”
Later that day, David Cuddy, General Manager of Public Affairs at Microsoft shared a statement to The Verge, “Today showed Sony has known all along we’ll stand by our promise to keep games on its platform and made clear its work to lobby against the deal is only to protect its dominant position in the market.”