Microsoft says the Name of Obligation franchise and different widespread cross-platform Activision Blizzard video games will stay accessible on PlayStation if and when its $68.7 billion acquisition goes by.

“To be clear, Microsoft will proceed to make Name of Obligation and different widespread Activision Blizzard titles accessible on PlayStation by the time period of any present settlement with Activision,” Microsoft says. “And we now have dedicated to Sony that we are going to additionally make them accessible on PlayStation past the present settlement and into the long run in order that Sony followers can proceed to benefit from the video games they love.”

Which means along with Name of Obligation, different Activision Blizzard titles, like Diablo and Overwatch, also needs to stay accessible as cross-platform video games. Final month, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft pledged to carry “the following few” Name of Obligation video games to PlayStation “for at the very least two years” earlier than the acquisition was made public.

After these two years go, it’s as much as Microsoft to resolve if it needs to proceed releasing Name of Obligation (and certain different cross-platform Activision Blizzard video games) on PlayStation. Microsoft has mentioned it expects the deal to shut within the subsequent six to 18 months, which implies we might not hear a last reply concerning the exclusivity of the video games for fairly a while.

Whereas Microsoft is definitely making it look like it needs to maintain Activision Blizzard titles cross-platform, present precedents have indicated in any other case. After Microsoft acquired Bethesda final 12 months, it promised to retain present contractual agreements with PlayStation, comparable to with Deathloop, however nonetheless launched Bethesda titles, Redfall and Starfield as Xbox and PC exclusives.

In its announcement, Microsoft additionally mentioned it plans on “taking comparable steps to help Nintendo’s profitable platform.” The announcement comes as Microsoft plans to introduce Open App Retailer Ideas, which Microsoft says will promote competitors in app shops as regulators shut in anticompetitive habits.

There’s one notable exception to its Open App Retailer plans, nevertheless — the Xbox Retailer. In response to Microsoft, “Gaming consoles, particularly, are bought to players at a loss to ascertain a sturdy and viable ecosystem for recreation builders. The prices are recovered later by income earned within the devoted console retailer.” The rules laid out is not going to apply “instantly and wholesale” on Xbox, however the firm referred to “closing the hole” between actuality and its said rules with out giving a transparent timeline.