As Microsoft continues to plead its case on the attempted Activision Blizzard acquisition, new bits of information regarding titles on either console come to light.
This new bit is not actually new, as it was originally published back in October when Microsoft issued their response to the UK’s Competition and Market Authority (CMA). Twitter user @KoreaXboxnews dug into the legal docs, where Microsoft said numerous big titles will never come to Xbox.
“Exclusivity strategies are not uncommon in the games industry and other market participants have access to their own content.” Microsoft opened with arguing that consoles have always had exclusivity. They claimed this has never harmed the console space and is in fact how they compete in the first place.
“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 (FromSoftware), the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) and the recently announced Silent Hill 2 remastered (Bloober team).”
It appears they confirm that certain titles will never be coming to Xbox, but it’s unknown how Microsoft came to be aware of this, or if they being truthful in this statement.
Though one could believe them considering that select Final Fantasy titles have yet to be released on Xbox. This is despite the FFVII Remake having already made its way to other places such as PC, after it’s timed exclusivity.
It’s also strange to see Bloodborne mentioned as it is a known Sony IP, which they published with developer FromSoftware, but at the time they didn’t have much ownership of that team. So Microsoft likely still considers them in this tier of third party developers making exclusive games for now.
Another thing which needs to be pointed out is that it’s been reported on that Silent Hill 2 Remake will only be a timed exclusive. So it could be coming to Xbox a year after its initial launch, which shows this could be Microsoft trying to confuse technical language when discussing what games are excluded.
This ultimately only harms consumers because of the confusion. Xbox fans may be willing to wait, but it’s entirely possible that certain titles, such as the Final Fantasy VII Remake, which fans are still hoping will come to Xbox, never do either due developers choosing not to or contractual agreements.
Assuming this is all true, then this is disappointing news for Xbox fans who might’ve been hoping to play these titles on their console of choice.