TikTok Expands AI Age-Detection Technology Across Europe Amid Rising Regulatory Pressure 
China Halts Shipments of Nvidia H200 AI Chips, Forcing Suppliers to Pause Production 
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Plans China Visit Amid AI Chip Market Uncertainty 
Apple Stock Jumps as Company Prepares Major Siri AI Chatbot Upgrade 
TSMC Shares Hit Record High as AI Chip Demand Fuels Strong Q4 Earnings 
Microsoft Restores Microsoft 365 Services After Widespread Outage 
Baidu Shares Surge After Official Launch of Advanced Ernie 5.0 AI Model 
Ericsson Plans SEK 25 Billion Shareholder Returns as Margins Improve Despite Flat Network Market 
South Korea Sees Limited Impact From New U.S. Tariffs on Advanced AI Chips 
Elon Musk Says Tesla Cybercab and Optimus Production Will Start Slowly Before Rapid Growth 
Memory Chip Shortage Drives Higher Gadget Prices and Weakens Global Tech Demand 
Google Seeks Delay on Data-Sharing Order as It Appeals Landmark Antitrust Ruling 
Morgan Stanley Flags High Volatility Ahead for Tesla Stock on Robotaxi and AI Updates 
OpenAI Launches Stargate Community Plan to Offset Energy Costs and Support Local Power Infrastructure 
Global DRAM Chip Shortage Puts Automakers Under New Cost and Supply Pressure 
Apple China Holiday Sale Offers Discounts Up to 1,000 Yuan on Popular Devices 
As soon as Microsoft announced it was acquiring Activision Blizzard earlier this week, video game fans started to wonder if popular IPs like "Call of Duty" will still be available on PlayStation in the future. Now, Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed that would be the case.
Spencer said on Twitter on Thursday that he "had good calls" with Sony this week. One of the things he discussed with them is the future of "Call of Duty" on the PlayStation platform. "I confirmed our intent to honor all existing agreements upon acquisition of Activision Blizzard and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation," Spencer wrote.
On Tuesday, Microsoft said it is acquiring Activision Blizzard in an all-cash transaction worth nearly $69 billion. The following day, Sony Group Corp. stocks dropped by as much as 10 percent. The deal is expected to close within Microsoft's fiscal year 2023, ending on June 30, 2023, which would add a long list of immensely successful IPs to the Microsoft gaming business, including "World of Warcraft," "Diablo," and "Overwatch."
Spencer's update comes after a statement from a Sony representative, who told WSJ on Thursday, "We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform." Activision Blizzard has a similar-sounding response on the matter in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing (via IGN), where the publisher told its employees that it will "continue supporting" platforms other than Xbox for its existing games even after Microsoft's acquisition is completed.
However, Spencer's latest update does not completely erase the speculations about the potential Xbox exclusivity of Activision Blizzard IPs. The Verge's Tom Warren suggested that Spencer's confirmation could mean several things. For one, it could simply mean that future "Call of Duty" iterations will not be Xbox-only games in the console space. But Spencer's statement might also be referring to "Warzone" and other existing "Call of Duty" installments only. Another possible outcome is that Microsoft would only fulfill any signed deals between Activision and Sony that may have provisions effective after the acquisition is completed.
While there are still many unanswered questions about the Activision Blizzard and Microsoft deal, the latter's treatment of the IPs from Bethesda and other Zenimax studios might provide some answers. Xbox did fulfill Bethesda's previous timed-exclusivity deals with Sony for "Deathloop" and "Ghostwire: Tokyo." The all-new game "Starfield," however, is only on Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Xbox Game Pass on Nov. 11. Meanwhile, the fate of "The Elder Scrolls 6" is still uncertain.
Photo by Fábio Silva on Unsplash
