Microsoft continues to lobby hard for regulators to approve of its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. As it tries to convince regulatory bodies to greenlight the purchase, the tech giant is showing it's not afraid to throw shade at its biggest detractor and competition, Sony. In its latest response to the UK Competition and Markets Authority, Microsoft is arguing that Sony has effectively blocked a handful of games from ever coming to Xbox platforms.
MS has already told CMA that Final Fantasy VII Remake cannot be released on Xbox. This is because Sony has signed a "Xbox exclusion" agreement with some third-party publishers for several games including FF VII Remake.https://t.co/g5URqGI2HA https://t.co/jbk6hXoQej pic.twitter.com/caChLDNkrH
— Xbox News for Koreans 🇰🇷 - 네이버 Xbox 정보 카페 (@KoreaXboxnews) December 22, 2022
According to Microsoft (as per KoreaXboxNews), Sony has set up deals with a handful of third-party publishers that require the "exclusion" of Xbox from the list of platforms they're allowed to release their games on.
Specifically, Microsoft names the following games as part of the said deal:
Bloodborne's exclusion is understandable. The award-winning title was published by Sony, which makes it more likely that it will forever remain on the PlayStation. However, the deals with Square Enix and Konami for Final Fantasy 7 Remake or Final Fantasy 16 and Silent Hill 2, respectively, is a bummer. If what Microsoft is saying is true, this proves what many have been saying about Sony all along. The PlayStation makers aren't above gatekeeping best-selling titles from the Xbox platform. Even though the likes of Final Fantasy and Silent Hill are commonly associated with the PlayStation brand, they are developed, published, and owned by third-party companies.
By deliberately preventing companies like Square Enix and Konami to release their games on Xbox platforms forever, Sony is feeding the narrative that it's guilty of the same thing it's arguing against.
Whether or not this will affect Microsoft's attempt at buying Activision Blizzard remains to be seen. But, the immediate impression is Sony has the pull to make something this big. It'll be interesting if there are other third-party games that Sony is preventing from coming to the Xbox platforms. Final Fantasy 14 and Forspoken certainly come to mind. But, what's clear here is that Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Rebirth as well as Final Fantasy 16 will never hit the Xbox Series S/X.
