Microsoft is committed to maintaining Obligations on PlayStation for “several more years” beyond the existing marketing agreement that Sony has with Activision. Microsoft Gaming CEO and Xbox boss Phil Spencer made the commitment in a letter written to PlayStation boss Jim Ryan earlier this year, and it’s the clearest sign yet that Obligations it won’t suddenly disappear from PlayStation platforms if regulators approve Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal.
“In January, we delivered a signed agreement to Sony to ensure Obligations on PlayStation, with feature and content parity, for at least several years beyond Sony’s current contract, an offering that goes far beyond typical gaming industry deals,” says Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, in a statement to the edge.
exactly how many years Obligations is guaranteed on PlayStation is still not very clear, but Bloomberg originally reported earlier this year that Microsoft had committed to releasing Obligations on PlayStation “for at least the next two years,” suggesting that Sony’s marketing deal for the franchise could expire in 2024. Microsoft then publicly pledged in February to keep Obligations “available on PlayStation beyond the existing agreement and in the future”.
Obligations fans are still debating whether Microsoft could technically make the game an Xbox exclusive if the deal with Activision Blizzard ends. Microsoft’s latest statement doesn’t address what happens after those “several more years,” but it’s clear the company is willing to ensure Obligations on PlayStation for a longer period than usual than what you have by contract.
Part of that compromise will be to ease the fears of regulators scrutinizing Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. Lawyers for Sony and Microsoft have been arguing about the importance of Obligations in documents presented to the regulator of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) of Brazil, and it is clearly a sticking point.
Sony claims it would be difficult for other developers to create a franchise to compete with Activision’s Obligations and that it stands out “as a game category on its own”. Microsoft argues that it is not as important as its rival makes it out to be. The reality is somewhere in the middle. Microsoft has also argued in these documents to CADE that not distribute games like Obligations at rival console stores “it just wouldn’t be profitable” for the company.
Microsoft says that a strategy of not distributing Activision Blizzard games on rival consoles would only be profitable if the games could attract a large number of gamers to the Xbox ecosystem, generating revenue to offset losses from not selling these titles on consoles. rival consoles.
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Fears around Xbox exclusivity for Obligations They’ve also been buzzing after Microsoft acquired Bethesda last year. Microsoft promised to maintain existing contractual agreements with Sony for deadly loop on PlayStation but happened to do red fall Y star field Xbox and PC exclusives.
Obligations Competitive fears have also played a role in the decision by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to take a closer look at Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal. The CMA is moving into a phase 2 investigation in which it will appoint an independent panel to determine whether Microsoft’s control over games like Obligations Y world of warcraft could damage rivals.
the battle is over Obligations between Xbox and PlayStation has been around for as long as the franchise has been around. Sony secured a deal for extra Obligations downloadable content for PlayStation fans in 2015, after Xbox was the traditional home of Obligations. That battle is sure to continue as lawyers for Microsoft and Sony continue to bicker over Obligationsand regulators are trying to decide exactly how important it really is.