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Sony is requiring developers to ‘exclude’ Xbox, Microsoft says
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As Sony continues to argue theproposed Microsoft takeover of Activision Blizzardwould harm competition in the gaming space, the PlayStation-maker is also apparently keeping keeping some third-party games from launching on Xbox, according to its big rival.
Microsoft reckons Final Fantasy 16, Bloodborne, and the Silent Hill 2 Remake won’t ever hit Xbox consoles because Sony has effectively strong-armed their developers into excluding Xbox.
As part of theresponseto the UK government’s probing of the Activision Blizzard deal, Microsoft says that while exclusivity partnerships aren’t uncommon, there are some arrangements that are harmful to developers and gamers.
“In addition to having outright exclusive content, Sony has also entered into arrangements with third-party publishers which require the ‘exclusion’ of Xbox from the set of platforms these publishers can distribute their games on.
“Some prominent examples of these agreements include Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix), Bloodborne (From Software), the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) and the recently announced Silent Hill 2 Remake [sic] (Bloober team).”
Silent Hill 2 Remake, for example, was designed to be 12-month Sony exclusive, but has’t yet arrived on the Xbox. Now, it appears it won’t arrive at all. The comments were spotted byKorea Xbox News(viaEurogamer) and seem to be attempting to convince competition authorities that Sony isn’t a squeaky-clean onlooker in the gaming wars.
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/g5URqGI2HAhttps://t.co/jbk6hXoQejpic.twitter.com/caChLDNkrH
In an effort to get the $70 billion takeover over the line, Microsoft has pledged to keep Call of Duty on all of the major platforms for at least ten years. The US government’s efforts to put the kibosh on the deal may not make that pledge necessary.
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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
