Sony is reportedly concerned that the Xbox will “leapfrog” over the PlayStation.
Sony is concerned that the Xbox will “leapfrog” over the PlayStation
Microsoft completed its purchase of Activision Blizzard - the studio behind ‘Call of Duty’, ’World of Warcraft’, ‘Overwatch’ and ’Diablo’ - in October, and gaming rival Sony is concerned their rival will overtake them in the console war.
In a document that was leaked after Insomniac Games, the developer of the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise, was hacked, Sony admitted they were worried Microsoft would use ‘Call of Duty’ to “disrupt and threaten console gaming and game subscription markets”, which could be a “massive threat to PlayStation Plus”.
The company claimed that Microsoft would have various major advantages after the purchase, and said: “Activision provides incredible strategic value across live service games, scale in mobile and PC storefront.”
Alongside the Activision Blizzard purchase, Microsoft continues to push their subscription service Xbox Game Pass, which Sony said they were worried would “leapfrog our current pillars”, which they admitted are “already dated and behind the competition” if the ‘Call of Duty’ franchise was added to their rival’s platform.
Sony explained that their subscription service, PlayStation Plus, would be outmatched and outclassed by Xbox Game Pass if the ‘Call of Duty’ franchise became exclusive to their service. As of this year, Game Pass generated $2.9 billion, nearly double that of Sony’s $1.5 billion earned from PlayStation Plus.
The Japanese company however insisted it did not want to add their own exclusive titles, such as ‘God of War’ ‘Uncharted’ and ‘Spider-Man’ to their subscription service, as the “expectation of free, best-in-class games creates [an] unsustainable model”.