Promotional image of Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft’s monthly subscription service – MICROSOFT
Oct. 13 (Portaltic/EP) –
microsoft has accused Sony of having prevented the arrival of its cloud gaming subscription service, Xbox GamePassto the PlayStation console, a strategy that would be due to the recent purchase of Activision Blizzard by the Redmond company.
Earlier this year, the tech giant reached an agreement to buy video game publisher and developer Activision Blizzard for just over €60.3 billion, a transaction that has been subject of controversy during these months.
It should be remembered that Microsoft makes Xbox, console that appears as direct competition in the market with that of sony playstation. With the purchase of the developer, Microsoft reported that it would include all its created and edited video games in its Game Pass subscription, and that with them it will enhance its cloud service, CloudGaming.
Hence, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard worried the Japanese company, which from the beginning has considered that this could endanger the available titles for platforms other than Microsoft.
So much so that, shortly after announcing the closing of the commercial agreement between the two companies, Sony announced that expected Microsoft to honor contractual agreementswhich ensured that Activision games were cross-platform.
One of the reasons why Sony has been suspicious of the agreement from the beginning is that the Call Of Duty franchise was left out of its catalog. This despite the fact that the CEO of Microsoft Gaming and head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, promised in writing that the saga could remain. “many more years” on PlayStation.
However, days after learning of this promise, the executive director of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, declared that Microsoft only offered Sony a three-year permanence after the current agreement between the video game developer and the Japanese manufacturer ended.
At the moment, this acquisition is in an approval process by the Market Competition Authority (CMA), whose regulatory agents are investigating the possible monopoly in which could incur this commercial agreement.
One of the key regulators in this approval process is the United Kingdom, which is studying the agreement in a second phase of the investigation, and which has recently raised concerns about the consequences of making it effective.
to the CMA he worries that this deal will hurt PlayStation and other multi-game subscription offers for Xbox developer’s ability to retain Activision Blizzard content. Likewise, the agency points out that Microsoft could use the video game editor to overcome rivals such as Google, Amazon or Nvidia, according to a document to which it has had access GamesIndustry.biz.
To fix this problem, Microsoft would have tried to bring its Game Pass subscription service to PlayStationa movement that Sony would have blocked, according to documents to which the senior editor of TheVerge Tom Warren.
“Because all video games that are available on Game Pass are purchasable, PlayStation players will still have the ability to purchase Call of Duty for PlayStation. Doing so will continue to cost them less than buying a new Xbox,” read one of the screenshots shared by Warren.
In another screenshot, it is noted that “Xbox plans to offer Activision Blizzard content on its service, which will benefit gamers while increasing the value of Game Pass.”
“This competition has not been well received by Sony, which has chosen to protect its revenue from sales of recently released games, rather than offer players the option to access them through PlayStation Plus,” the text concludes. from image.
SONY EXAGGERATES WITH CALL OF DUTY, ACCORDING TO MICROSOFT
In line with these statements, Microsoft has recalled that Sony had more than 280 exclusive own and third-party titles on PlayStation in 2021, almost five times more than Xbox, which is why would not be “vulnerable” in the event that the transmission of the aforementioned war video game did not finally take place.
“Sony significantly exaggerates the importance of Call Of Duty and does not take into account its clear ability to respond competitively. It has the ability to adapt and compete. Players will ultimately benefit from this increased competition and choice,” he said in statements shared with GamesIndustry.biz.
In any case, Xbox maintains that the franchise will continue to be available for PlayStation, since it believes that removing it from the Sony console “will tarnish the Call of Duty and Xbox brands.”
