Microsoft's Call of Duty exclusivity experiment on PC deemed a "resounding failure"

Microsoft claims that Activision's attempt to make Call of Duty exclusive to its Battle.net platform from 2018 to 2022 was a "resounding failure." According to Microsoft's court filing, Battle.net's monthly active users remained flat during the exclusive period, while Steam's user base nearly doubled. This supports Microsoft's stance that it would be counterintuitive to make key Activision Blizzard franchises exclusive to Xbox if the merger goes through. Microsoft has repeatedly stated that it will continue to support Call of Duty on rival platforms and denies using platform exclusivity to foreclose competitors.