The FTC and Microsoft are engaged in the final day of court hearings over the Activision Blizzard merger. Similar to previous days, Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda Softworks was also brought up over the last few hours.
However, the FTC has revealed an interesting document from Microsoft. An internal email between Xbox executives Matt Booty and Tim Stuart reveals that Microsoft has considered full exclusivity for all Bethesda titles.
Why it matters: Phil Spencer has previously stated that exclusivity for Bethesda titles would be decided on a case-by-case basis. However, this email appears to go against Phil Spencer’s statement.
"All titles going forward, Xbox exclusive"
Stuart: This is new IP, I assume, not ALL games?
Booty: Nope. All games.
Booty: As I was saying, different than the deal model.
— Derek Strickland (@DeekeTweak) June 29, 2023
The tweet above shows a rough version of the exchange between the Xbox executives. This email was provided by the FTC during the recent hearing.
Xbox has already scrapped the PlayStation version of Redfall. The hearings have also revealed that Indiana Jones was initially supposed to launch on all platforms, but this changed after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media.
However, Phil Spencer continues to maintain his stance on exclusivity for Bethesda games. When asked about exclusivity for The Elder Scrolls 6, he recently claimed that a decision is not made since the game is so far away.
Another email between Tim Stuart and Phil Spencer suggests that Microsoft has already decided to make nearly every Bethesda release exclusive to Xbox.
Chat between Stuart and Spencer being brought up, email was sent after Jefferies talk.
Mr Spencer says that "your words sure did stir up a lot of stuff."
"Wish we could just come out and say we were talking it all exclusive at this point."
Spencer said "We can't say that"
— Derek Strickland (@DeekeTweak) June 29, 2023
The email hints Tim Stuart intended to announce exclusivity moving forward, but Phil Spencer was not too fond of this idea.
It is possible that Phil Spencer decided against such an announcement in case Xbox wanted to change plans in the future. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude if Xbox has made a final decision, but recent actions suggest that exclusivity is a strong possibility for major Bethesda titles.
However, Microsoft is promising to keep Call of Duty on multiple platforms. The gaming giant has suggested deals with PlayStation, but regulators and PlayStation have offered stiff competition against the latest merger.
These emails could provide an edge for the FTC, helping the regulator convince the judge that Microsoft may go back on its words for Activision Blizzard titles after the contract expires.
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[News Reporter]
Malik Usman is student of Computer Science focused on using his knowledge to produce detailed and informative articles covering the latest findings from the tech industry. His expertise allows him to cover subjects like processors, graphics cards, and more. In addition to the latest hardware, Malik can be found writing about the gaming industry from time to time. He is fond of games like God of War, and his work has been mentioned on websites like Whatculture, VG247, IGN, and Eurogamer.
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