Microsoft Believes Sony Pays Developers For “Blocking Rights” Preventing Games From Appearing On Xbox Game Pass

As Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard will get accepted, Sony made a press release saying that they had been involved over Call of Duty’s potential exclusivity with Xbox. Sony believes that Call of Duty is so massive that it’s in a class of its personal and that no different developer will create something that rivals it. Because Call of Duty is so massive, it might affect gamers’ alternative of console which might take away from PlayStation. Microsoft responded to Sony’s points saying that they may nonetheless face heavy competitors. Microsoft named video games from Ubisoft, Riot, Amazon, and Google that Call of Duty should compete with. Now, Microsoft claims that Sony pays builders “blocking fees” which prohibits its video games going to Xbox Game Pass.

In documents despatched to Brazil’s Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) as a part of the approval of the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft stated “Considering that exclusivity strategies have been at the core of Sony’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the games industry, and that Sony is a leader in the distribution of digital games, Sony’s concern with possible exclusivity of Activision‘s content is incoherent, to say the least.”

Microsoft continued: “It only reveals, once again, a fear about an innovative business model that offers high-quality content at low costs to gamers, threatening a leadership that has been forged from a device-centric and exclusivity-focused strategy over the years. Indeed, Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been obstructed 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 additionally claimed that Sony  “does not want attractive subscription services to threaten its dominance in the digital distribution market for console games,” arguing: “In other words, Sony rails against the introduction of new monetization models capable of challenging its business model.”

Following the announcement of the acquisition earlier this 12 months, Microsoft stated that they may maintain Call of Duty on PlayStation platforms. Then, a report revealed that  Activision Blizzard is dedicated to 3 extra video games on each PlayStation and Xbox. This consists of Warzone 2. 

Whether or not Call of Duty stays multiplatform following the three video games is one thing we’ll have to attend and see.