Microsoft claimed that Sony blocked some major games from Xbox in response to the CMA’s thoughts on merging Activision Blizzard.
Back in October, the CMA expressed its concerns about the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Microsoft then voiced its dislike of the CMA’s concerns. Although the 111-page answer has been around for quite a while, we’re still discovering new information from it. Notably, the document mentioned that Sony has blocked at least four games from ever coming to Xbox.
MS has previously informed CMA that Sony has entered into an “Xbox lockout” agreement with some third-party vendors for…
• Final Fantasy VII Remake
• Bloodborne
• Final Fantasy XVI
• Silent Hill 2 remasteredAs a result, these games cannot be published on Xboxhttps://t.co/sXjnIfhHpHpic.twitter.com/Y1muVHQtU0
— Idle Sloth💙💛 (@IdleSloth84_) December 23, 2022
Microsoft even went so far as to mention the four games Sony wants to remain exclusive to PlayStation. These games are Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix), Bloodborne (From Software), Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix), and Silent Hill 2 Remaster (Bloober Team). According to Microsoft, Sony has agreements with third-party providers. The agreements would exclude Xbox from the platforms on which these games will be available. Although games like FFVII Remake are timed exclusives, they usually only go to PC rather than Xbox. This forces players to pick up a PlayStation if they want to play the game.
On top of that, Microsoft admits that Sony has better exclusives on PlayStation compared to Xbox. Not only that, they also have more than 5x the exclusives. This was actually one of Microsoft’s strongest arguments for the merger. You mentioned that Sony had an exclusive monopoly. If anything, this merger would force Sony to adapt to the situation.
In any case, we’ll have to wait until at least August next year to see if the merger goes through. This is thanks to the FTC, which sued Microsoft to block the deal. We also have to wait for the decision of the UK and the EU on the merger. This deal is, after all, the biggest in gaming history.
If you’re interested in learning more about Activision Blizzard’s ongoing acquisition, you can read our articles on the situation since the initial announcement. Otherwise, you can read our gaming news articles to keep up to date with the latest gaming news.