Microsoft accuses Sony of blocking the arrival of Xbox Game Pass on PlayStation

microsoft has accused Sony of having prevented the arrival of your cloud gaming subscription service, Xbox GamePassto the console PlayStationa strategy that is due to the recent purchase of ActivisionBlizzard by the company of Redmond.

Earlier this year, the tech giant reached an agreement to buy video game publisher and developer Activision Blizzard, a transaction that has been the subject of controversy for months.

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It should be remembered that Microsoft manufactures Xbox, a console that appears as direct competition in the market with Sony’s, PlayStation. With the purchase of the developer, Microsoft reported that it would include all its video games created and edited in its Game Pass subscriptionand that with them it will enhance its cloud service, Cloud Gaming.

Hence, the acquisition of Activision Blizzard worried the Japanese company, which from the beginning has considered that it could jeopardize the titles available for platforms other than Microsoft.

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So much so that, shortly after announcing the closing of the commercial agreement between the two companies, Sony announced that it expected Microsoft to comply with the contractual agreements, which ensured that Activision games were multiplatform.

One of the reasons why Sony has been suspicious of the agreement from the outset 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 will be able to remain. “many more years” on PlayStation.

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However, days after knowing this promise, the executive director of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, stated that Microsoft only offered Sony a three-year tenure 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 Competition Market Authority (CMA), whose regulatory agents are investigating the possible monopoly that this commercial agreement could incur.

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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.

The CMA is concerned that this deal will hurt PlayStation and other multi-game subscription offerings because of the Xbox developer’s ability to retain Activision Blizzard content. Likewise, the agency points out that Microsoft could use the video game publisher to overcome rivals such as Google, Amazon or Nvidia, according to a document to which GamesIndustry.biz has had access.

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To fix this problem, Microsoft reportedly tried to bring its Game Pass subscription service to PlayStation, a move that Sony reportedly blocked, according to documents seen by The Verge senior editor Tom Warren.

“Because all video games that are available on Game Pass are purchasable, PlayStation players will continue to have the ability to purchase Call of Duty on PlayStation. Doing so will continue to cost them less than buying a new Xbox.”can be read in one of the screenshots shared by Warren.

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In another capture, it is pointed out 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 income from sales of recently released games, instead of offering players the option to access them through PlayStation Plus,” the text concludes. from image.

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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 Xboxwhich is why it wouldn’t 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 disregards its clear ability to respond competitively. It has the ability to adapt and compete. Players will ultimately benefit from this increased competition and choice.”has justified 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 Sony’s console “will tarnish the Call of Duty and Xbox brands.”

Source: Elcomercio

James

I have worked as a journalist for over 10 years and have written for various news outlets. I currently work as an author at 24 News Recorder, mostly covering entertainment news. I have a keen interest in the industry and enjoy writing about the latest news and gossip. I am also a member of the National Association of Journalists.