The point of friction between Microsoft and the various regulators in the matter of the takeover ofActivision-Blizzard seems to be that of the issue of exclusives. This is why Microsoft is committed to publishing call of duty on other platforms for 10 years, while claiming that sony is quite accustomed to depriving its competitors of headlines by resorting to exclusivities that unbalance the balance of power. In any case, this is what the American company pointed out to the CMA (the British organization) last October.
When Sony wants to rule out the competition
This takeover allowed us to discover many details about the industry and the practices of the major players, Microsoft and Sony. Thanks to the latest document relayed by KoreaXboxNews and Eurogamer, we learn that Microsoft claims that some games presented as temporary exclusives will simply not be released on Xbox, despite what part of the community may think. All this because Sony would have demanded to exclude » the possibility of seeing certain titles arrive one day on Xbox :
” In addition to having purely exclusive content, Sony has also entered into agreements with third-party publishers that require Xbox to be “barred” from all platforms on which these publishers can distribute their games.. Some important 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 (Bloober Team). »
In the case of Bloodbornenothing more normal to see Sony exclude the possibility of seeing the game released elsewhere given that it is precisely published by Sony, but in terms of Final Fantasy and the next silent Hillit’s a different story.
Excluded temporarily or definitively?
The twist of this statement suggests that Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy XVI and Silent Hill 2 Remake are not planned on Xbox at all, which might surprise some. Since these games are sold as temporary exclusives, there is a natural tendency to think that they could arrive on Xbox once the exclusivity contract is over, even if there is nothing to confirm this. The temporary exclusivity can only indicate that the game will come later on PC rather than another platform, as we have seen with Final Fantasy VII Remake.
It’s a bit more complicated for Silent Hill 2 Remake. When it was announced, it was clarified that the game would be a one-year PS5 console exclusive, with a planned release also on Steam. What suggest that an output on another console, such as the Xbox Series, was possible. What this document contradicts.
It’s hard to know if Microsoft is playing on words here and deliberately forgetting the mention of temporary exclusivity, or if this is real information that kills the idea of one day having Xbox versions of the games mentioned. . We are therefore awaiting some clarification on this subject.