Call of Duty battle over after Sony deal with Microsoft

Call of Duty will stay on PlayStation in a deal between Sony and Microsoft, ending a fight over its future.

Microsoft's Phil Spencer said the tech giants agreed to a "binding agreement" to keep Call of Duty on the gaming platform.

Players would have "more choice", he said.

Mr Spencer signalled the development on Sunday, bringing to an end a protracted battle between the two companies since Microsoft announced its intended acquisition of Activision Blizzard in early 2022.

The BBC has approached Microsoft to reveal terms of the deal and whether it is similar to a reported 10-year agreement struck with Nintendo.

Microsoft's proposed $69bn (£52.6bn) purchase of Activision would be the biggest of its kind in gaming industry history.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been trying to block Microsoft's buyout of Activision, in a deal that has divided regulators globally.

The decision by a US judge to reject a request by the FTC late on Thursday to temporarily halt the deal means the merger could be completed by Tuesday.

However, the US regulator, arguing the deal would reduce competition, has since asked a different court for a "temporary pause" on the deal.

But Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said she did not think the regulator would win in its case.

"The FTC has not shown it is likely to succeed on its assertion the combined firm will probably pull Call of Duty from Sony PlayStation, or that its ownership of Activision content will substantially lessen competition in the video game library subscription and cloud gaming markets," Judge Corley wrote in her decision.

It comes after the deal was approved by the European Union, while a bid to block the merger in the UK is currently under appeal.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which had initially blocked the takeover, has now said it will spend six weeks giving the deal "full and proper consideration".

The CMA said it needed until the end of August to look at the "detailed and complex" submissions from Microsoft, though it said it "aims to discharge its duty as soon as possible and in advance of this date".