Microsoft claimt dat Sony betaalde contracten sluit met ontwikkelaars zodat games niet verschijnen op Xbox Game Pass.
Dat blijkt uit een document van Microsoft dat is ingediend bij de Overheid van Brazilië. Volgens Microsoft is dit een reactie van Sony op de overname van Activision Blizzard door Microsoft. Sony zou de groei van Xbox Game Pass willen remmen door verschillende third party ontwikkelaars te betalen.
Sony heeft nog niet gereageerd op de beschuldiging. Microsoft heeft aangegeven dat Call of Duty-games ook na de overname gewoon ook uit gaan komen op PlayStation-consoles.
“Considering that exclusivity strategies have been at the core of Sony’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the games industry, and that Sony is a leader in the distribution of digital games, Sony’s concern with possible exclusivity of Activision‘s content is incoherent, to say the least,”
“It only reveals, once again, a fear about an innovative business model that offers high-quality content at low costs to gamers, threatening a leadership that has been forged from a device-centric and exclusivity-focused strategy over the years.”
“Indeed, Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been obstructed by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth. Sony pays for ‘blocking rights’ to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services.”
“ Sony does not want attractive subscription services to threaten its dominance in the digital distribution market for console games,” arguing: “In other words, Sony rails against the introduction of new monetization models capable of challenging its business model.”
