I think it’s just smart to not force yourself into a ‘in perpetuity’ contract for many reasons.
Just as some stupid example, what do they do if Sony’s next console is some weird, gimmicky, Nintendo-like thing that mandates certain features or parity, or whatever stuff that could hinder a game? You don’t want your series to be forever gimped because you signed yourself into this corner. Or even from an economical standpoint, what if Sony decided they now want 50% of every game sold as a universal mandate for everything sold on their platform?
I mean that’s an exaggerated example that no one really thinks would happen, but those kinds of unpredictable situations are why no one really wants to agree to an ‘in perpetuity’ contract.
Although I don’t think Sony is really all too concerned about exclusivity because they know Call of Duty isn’t going away any time soon. They see Call of Duty being on game pass and being marketed by Xbox as a serious threat by itself.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if a part of these negotiations are to dismantle the Sony/Activision exclusivity/marketing deal(and presumably the restriction of it coming to game pass for the duration). Historically the series has always sold best on the platform that has the marketing deal.
