PlayStation fans rejoice! Even Xbox reckons PS exclusives are better

There has been a lot of development in the ongoing drama surrounding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard today. The merger (which began in January 2022 this year) has been a source of much anger for Sony, and there’s been something of a back and forth between the companies as the deal nears completion.

There are a variety of government bodies currently looking at the deal, and one of them is the UK Department of Competition and Markets Authority. As part of the case study on whether Microsoft Corporation’s anticipated acquisition of Activision Blizzard is right and healthy for the broader video game market, the government body has published Sony and Microsoft’s responses to its findings.

The results are very revealing. In addition to some choice lines on how many players or games each platform has (“there were more than 280 first-party and third-party exclusive titles on PlayStation in 2021, nearly five times as many as on Xbox,” Microsoft says in its response), there are a few looks insightful into how each company views their own games.

One particular highlight is where Microsoft notes that “Sony has more exclusive games than Microsoft, many of which are of better quality.” The point, as you can see below, notes that “both Sony’s own exclusive and Nintendo’s own games are among the best sellers in Europe and around the world”, and that “Sony’s current exclusive content includes first-party titles standouts like The Last of Us, Ghosts of Tsushima, God of War, and Spiderman.”

Microsoft goes on to say, “In addition to having outright 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.” Microsoft takes issue with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Bloodborne, Silent Hill 2 Remastered, and Final Fantasy 16 here.

Seeing, clearly and formally, that Microsoft admits that Sony has more and better quality exclusives is eye opening, and perhaps a bit daunting for the team working on upcoming Xbox titles (Fable, Perfect Dark, Starfield and more coming to the fore). mind).

This whole tug of war between Microsoft and Sony is likely to get more complicated as it nears completion. We will keep you posted on other developments as they happen.