Ex-PlayStation Boss Mocks Phil Spencer For Implying Sony Is “Slimy”

Highlights

Phil Spencer recently referred to console exclusivity as “slimy,” seemingly making a sly dig at competitor PlayStation.
Ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden responds to Spencer’s comment with a simple gif.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the next Activision title to join Game Pass, which Spencer says gives players “a choice.”

Speaking during IGN Live, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer implied that studios such as PlayStation were “slimy.” Now, ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden, who stepped down from his role in 2019, has responded to the comment from Spencer, seemingly mocking him with a simple response.

While Spencer was not directly discussing PlayStation when he made the comment, fans knew exactly what the Xbox head was getting at. During the show, Spencer discussed the recent news that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 would be coming to Game Pass on both Xbox and PC on day one.

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Until now, Spencer hadn’t commented on May’s studio closures.

The monumental news was decisive among the community, but Spencer explained that Xbox wanted to give players “a choice” on how they wanted to play. “We didn’t say to anybody ‘you have to subscribe to play’. If you want to buy Black Ops 6, that’s great. It’s great for us, it’s great for the developer. If you want to subscribe, it’s also great,” Spencer explained (via PSU).

Spencer then went on to say, “I want to give you the choice on how you play your games, and who you play with, and not try to do slimy platform things to force you to do what I want you to do.”

Many took the CEO’s “slimy” comment to be referencing competitor PlayStation, to which ex-PlayStation boss Shawn Layden has now responded with a simple gif, clearly mocking Spencer’s comment.

While Call of Duty coming to Xbox Game Pass is a gigantic moment for the subscription service, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. When Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard, the studio responsible for publishing the Call of Duty franchise, it wasted no time in bringing some of Activision’s biggest titles to the service.

The acquisition was completed in October 2023, and just four months later it was revealed that Diablo 4, another massive Activision-Blizzard property, would be coming to Game Pass. It was the beginning of things to come, with Xbox President Sarah Bond saying at the time, “I’m excited to announce, with the coming together that we had with Activision Blizzard King, that Activision and Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass, starting with Diablo 4.” (via Wowhead).

Xbox clearly remains committed to bringing Activision games to Game Pass, with Call of Duty becoming quite possibly the subscription service’s biggest-ever addition.