With roughly around 13.5 million units already sold compared to the Xbox Series S/X's combined total of around 8 million units, it's safe to say that the PS5 is winning the console wars of this generation, at least in terms of numbers. However, when it comes to partnerships struck, Microsoft is leaps and bounds ahead of Sony.
Why aren't PlayStation owners getting Ubisoft Plus?
Microsoft and Sony are not following the same strategy as far as this console generation goes. Both tech giants might not mind spending money acquiring other studios, but they don't have the same goal. Whereas Sony prefers exclusivity and controlling which of their games make it outside of the PlayStation platform, Microsoft is doing everything that it can to secure as many games as possible for the Xbox.
Because of Microsoft's commitment to expanding its games library, the Xbox Game Pass has an ever-growing list of titles, including newer ones that become available to subscribers as soon as they hit the market.
For January, Microsoft and Ubisoft have partnered up to give Xbox Game Pass subscribers Rainbow Six: Extraction at launch as well as 2015's Rainbow Six Siege. Not only that, but Ubisoft announced that its very own subscription service, Ubisoft Plus, will make its way to the Xbox consoles sometime in the future as a separate subscription.
Unfortunately, according to Pushsquare, the publisher has no plans "to share about other platforms at this time."
The silver lining here is that Rainbow Six: Extraction is a relatively inexpensive game. As confirmed in an earlier announcement, Extraction will sell at a reduced price of $39.99 on all platforms. In addition to this, each copy comes with two free passes that are good for 14 days. Of course, $39.99 is nearly three months' worth of Xbox Game Pass; it's clear that PlayStation owners are getting the short end of the stick here.
If Extraction becomes as big as it is with the help of the partnership between Microsoft and Ubisoft, it might just force Sony to roll out Project Spartacus, which is reportedly a merged version of PS Plus and PS Now with several improvements.
In other PlayStation news, Sony finally confirmed the PSVR 2 at CES 2022. The next-gen VR headset is reportedly set to arrive in late 2022. The news comes nearly a month after the reveal of official faceplates for the PS5 and other colorways for the DualSense.
