Microsoft has hit back at Sony’s objection to its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard by revealing that third-party games like Bloodborne, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy 16, and Silent Hill 2 Remake are party to “exclusion” agreements that will prevent those games from coming to Xbox consoles.
The news comes as part of Microsoft’s response to the FTC’s lawsuit against its planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the filing, Microsoft defends its position by turning the spotlight back onto Sony, detailing a handful of “prominent” games the company alleges have been barred from release on Xbox.
Whilst the filing acknowledges that “exclusivity strategies are not uncommon in the games industry”, Microsoft seems to take issue with Sony’s partnerships with third-party publishers, namely From Software, Square Enix, and Konami.