How Sony and Activision’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 partnership came to be

At E3 this year, Activision and Sony surprised the world by announcing a new partnership that'll ultimately see the release of downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 release first on PlayStation platforms before arriving on all others. Given that this type of timed-exclusivity deal for Call of Duty content was something we've grown accustomed to on Xbox, the new deal between Sony and Activision came as somewhat of a surprise. Speaking to IGN, Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg simply said it was a combination of timing and past experiences working with Sony on projects.

"The time was right for us to partner up with Sony," Hirshberg told IGN. "They really wanted it."

Another factor in Activision's decision to partner with Sony for this year's Call of Duty stems from the publisher's work with the platformholder with Destiny, Bungie's online multiplayer shooter.

"When a first party is really excited and gets behind your games it makes a really big difference," Hirshberg continued. "[Sony] did a great job with Destiny and helped launch that and make it successful."

Under the new partnership, PlayStation owners will have first access to all of Call of Duty: Black Ops 3's downloadable content — 30 days before Xbox and PC.

"It's important to remember that this is a cross-platform game and everyone gets all the content eventually," Hirshberg noted, "and it's going to be the best shooter on any platform no matter where you want to play."

Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 will launch November 6, 2015 on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.