This is a very serious accusation by Microsoft regarding its major competitor
The allegations are contained in documents that have been submitted to Brazil’s national competition commission as part of an investigation into Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft filed the claim to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defence (CADE) on Tuesday this week saying that Sony is actively trying to stop the growth of Xbox Game Pass by halting certain games from appearing on the platform.
According to Microsoft, Sony is paying game developers to keep their titles off of Game Pass due to concerns about exclusivity. Microsoft is worried that several Activision Blizzard titles that are currently available on PlayStation Plus, such as those from the Call of Duty series, might turn into Game Pass exclusives after the acquisition is complete.
In the filing, Microsoft claims:
“Considering that exclusivity strategies have been at the heart of Sony’s strategy to strengthen the company’s presence in the games industry and that Sony is a leader in the distribution of digital games, Sony’s concern with any exclusivity of Activision’s content is inconsistent — to say the least.
Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been hampered by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth. Sony pays for ‘blocking rights’ to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services.”
Microsoft is trying to persuade Brazil’s CADE regulator that it should “waive” through the proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is analyzing all the documents from Microsoft regarding its acquisition in the U.S. and these findings are “private” in the U.S., but this is not the case in Brazil where its competition regulator offers up public documents that will provide insight into the competition between Microsoft and Sony.
However, Sony is reportedly worried that if Microsoft and the Call of Duty franchise play the same game, “Microsoft would gain an unattainable lead in subscription services.” Despite Microsoft’s repeated denials that they intend to make Call of Duty an Xbox-exclusive title because it “would simply not be profitable.”
Earlier this month, Sony claimed that the Call of Duty series and Activision Blizzard’s acquisition by Microsoft will influence people to choose Xbox over PlayStation.
It seems the battle between Sony and Microsoft rages on and we will be keeping our ears to the ground to keep up with exactly what is happening in this case between the two major players in the gaming industry as this affects countless gamers globally.