Sony today released their first statement following the massive Microsoft-Activison Blizzard acquisition announcement.

Two days out from the industry shaking announcement, the dust has barely settled. Should the deal be approved by regulatory bodies in US and Europe, what the mid-2023 acquisition means for Activision Blizzard properties on PlayStation platforms is anyone's guess. Microsoft is apparently keeping the door open for "some titles" on PlayStation, but what those titles might be is unclear. However, the one voice we have yet to hear from is PlayStation itself. At least, until now.

In a statement to The Wall Street Journal, a Sony Spokesperson stated they expect Microsoft to honor contractual agreements and to ensure Activision games are multiplatform:

“We expect that Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform.”

It's an interesting statement that implies there are contractual agreements in place. We know that Sony and Activision have tied the Call of Duty franchise to the platform via a long-running marketing deal, though we have no idea how many more years they'll have it. There may also already be unannounced deals in place for upcoming Activision Blizzard titles like Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV.

Regardless of what Sony is stating, it's still too early to tell how this will all shake out. We still have a year and a half before the deal goes through. Hopefully, more will become clear during the regulatory processes as we barrel towards June 2023.