Microsoft denies making Redfall exclusive to the Xbox

But, no one thinks Redfall, Starfield, and other future ZeniMax Media titles, weren't all in development at some stage during the purchase. Arkane might have announced Redfall at the first-ever Microsoft Bethesda showcase, though it wouldn't surprise us if Arkane Austin had worked on it following the launch of Prey in 2017.

It's worth noting that Arkane Studios is made up of two studios: Arkane Austin and Arkane Lyon. The two have worked independently from each other since the launch of Dishonored 2 and Prey in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Besides, when you think about it, Microsoft's statement doesn't absolve it of anything. The company's buyout of ZeniMax Media had nothing to do with the timed exclusivity of Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo. At the very least, both were likely already inked to their PS5 exclusivity deals before Microsoft bought ZeniMax Media, so it's not like the tech giant could do anything about it.

Also, if only to play as the devil's advocate, Bethesda Softworks was probably also working on a PS5 version of Starfield at some point only for Microsoft to cancel it - Bethesda seemed apologetic about the Xbox exclusivity of their first new IP in nearly three decades.

Of course, we're only talking about Redfall because of the ongoing acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As a result of what the Redfall director, Harvey Smith, said, Sony's lawyers have plenty of ways to discredit Microsoft.

The most telling part about the statement by Microsoft is it didn't deny what Smith said and this might just be enough for Sony to prolong Microsoft's agony. Nevertheless, we're still expecting Microsoft to walk away as the winner here. In a year, Sony will most likely have no choice but to listen to Microsoft and start working on a Call of Duty rival.