Private email shows PlayStation chief unworried about Xbox-exclusive Call of Duty

Publicly, Sony has been adamant that Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision would give Microsoft too much power over PlayStation’s access to key multi-console franchises like Call of Duty. Privately, though, Sony Interactive Entertainment President and CEO Jim Ryan seemed less concerned, according to a blockbuster email Microsoft presented Thursday during opening statements in a court hearing on the FTC’s attempts to block the Activision purchase.

“It’s not an exclusive play at all,” Ryan said in the January 2022 email, as read by Microsoft lawyer Beth Wilkinson. “They are thinking bigger than that and they have the cash to make moves like this.”

“I’ve spent a fair amount of time with both [Microsoft gaming head Phil Spencer] and Bobby [Kotick] over the past day,” Ryan continued in the email. “I’m pretty sure we will continue to see CoD on PlayStation for many years to come. I’m not complacent and I’d rather this hasn’t happened but we’ll be OK, more than OK.”