Very bad news for gamers on the console from the big X. Microsoft has indeed confirmed that Third-party games like Bloodborne, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 16 and Silent Hill 2 Remake won’t come to Xboxas they will remain exclusive to Sony.
The news comes with a timing that is certainly not accidental. Microsoft is indeed at the center of a crossfire after the freezing of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard. On the one hand there is Sony, producer of PlayStation and Xbox’s biggest competitor, on the other there is the Federal Trade Commission americana (FTC) which believes that the acquisition would lead Microsoft to have an anti-competitive monopoly of the gaming market.
What is worrying is the fact that Activision Blizzard owns major franchises such as, for example, Call of Duty (COD). Sony and the FTC say Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision would lead to COD games becoming Xbox exclusive.
With a document filed in these hours (via Eurogamer) Microsoft defends its position, rekindling the spotlight on Sony. The company is basically re-launching the same accusations that Sony had leveled against Xbox, highlighting the many important titles that will remain exclusive to PlayStation.
Microsoft: “Games like Final Fantasy 16 and Silent Hill 2 Remake will not be released on Xbox”
The document filed by Microsoft acknowledges that “game exclusivity strategies are not uncommon in the gaming industry”. However, Microsoft appears to be taking issue with Sony’s partnerships with third-party publishers such as From Software, Square Enix and Konami.
“In addition to having completely exclusive content, Sony has also entered into agreements with third-party publishers that require Xbox to be “excluded” from the set of platforms on which these publishers can distribute their games. Some notable examples of these deals include Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix), Bloodborne (From Software), the new Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) and Silent Hill 2 remastered,” reads the document.
Last week, Microsoft had filed another 37-page document in which there was also a declaration of Brad Smith, president of Microsoft:
“While we are confident in the legitimacy of our positions, we are open to discussions with regulators to find creative solutions to preserve the competitiveness of the market, consumers and industry insiders. As demonstrated by our history, we never exclude ourselves from the possibility of finding compromises that can benefit everyone”