Microsoft’s continued attempts to push its Activision Blizzard acquisition through are resulting in quite a few 10-year ‘deals’ being struck by the company. Xbox has agreed such deals with both Nintendo and Nvidia, with Sony still refusing to sign a same-length deal thus far.
Naturally, that leads to questions about what comes after those 10 years – questions put forward to Microsoft president Brad Smith at a recent press briefing. When asked about whether any 10-year Call of Duty deals might be renewed after that length of time, Smith made some interesting comments (thanks, GamesRadar).
“There may be someone else standing here in 2033,
Now, none of us can actually predict what exactly will be the form factor that is most prevalent in gaming a decade from now. Will consoles still play the role that they play, whether it be phones, it all be in some Metaverse something or other. Who knows.”
The company’s vagueness is perhaps unsurprising here; they likely want the focus to be on the next 10 years while Xbox continues to press on with its acquisition-related concessions. Even so, this sentiment does go against what Phil Spencer himself said just a few years back.
Back in 2020, the Xbox boss said “I don’t think Xbox Series X is our last console”, also claiming that Microsoft “will do more consoles to make that great television play experience work and be delightful.”
Whether traditional console gaming will come to an end as we know it has been a much-debated topic for years, and even in 2023, folks still don’t truly know how things will shake out. For now, we’ll continue to enjoy Xbox Series X|S on our shiny 4K TVs, thank you!
