Xbox is currently struggling to survive in the gaming market. While competitors like Sony and Nintendo continue to thrive, Microsoft is looking to find innovative ways to maintain its relevance in the industry.
This has led to the gaming giant pursuing acquisitions for a stronger first-party lineup of games. However, the Activision Blizzard acquisition has been subject to various problems, and Microsoft is currently engaged with the FTC in court.
Speaking during the recent hearing, Phil Spencer from Xbox elaborated on Sony’s position in the market. According to the Xbox CEO, Sony is making the survival of Xbox difficult in the gaming market.
Why it matters: Third-party exclusives have always existed in the industry, but PlayStation’s lead over the last decades allows them a massive advantage when securing such deals.
As reported by WindowsCentral, Phil Spencer pointed to PlayStation’s aggressive third-party deals and said:
“PlayStation uses the money they make off of Xbox games on PS5 to pay for other games to block on the Xbox platform.”
He pointed out that Xbox is still releasing games on PlayStation. This includes titles like Minecraft, Deathloop, and more. However, each new release means that PlayStation keeps 30% of the cut for each game sale.
Phil Spencer claims Sony uses this money to make Xbox’s survival even more difficult.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer says "every time we ship a game on PlayStation… Sony captures 30 percent of the revenue that we do on their platform and then they use that money… to do things to try to reduce Xbox's survival on the market." https://t.co/aPQgk9JU8L pic.twitter.com/wk3CDElVAD
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) June 23, 2023
Previously, PlayStation signed third-party deals for games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake. In 2023, Final Fantasy 16 is one of the biggest PlayStation titles and a third-party exclusive.
However, these deals often mean that such games never end up on Xbox. While Final Fantasy 7 Remake has already been released on PC, the game cannot be played on any Xbox console.
Fans are expecting a similar fate for Final Fantasy 16. In addition to PlayStation’s strong first-party lineup, these third-party deals can be seen as a massive blow for Xbox. Previously, Microsoft also admitted that Xbox lost the console wars.
Still, the future is looking promising for Xbox. Various first-party games like Fable and Starfield look impressive, and Game Pass offers a unique advantage with day-one AAA games.
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