Sony will reportedly refuse to share details on future consoles with Activision if its deal with Microsoft goes ahead, essentially preventing new games from making their way onto a PS6.
The deal between Xbox and Activision is still up in the air at the moment, due to significant backlash from several directions. The UK CMA has blocked the deal for 10 years, believing it will significantly harm competition in the gaming market. This was followed by a lawsuit in the US from players, who believe they have evidence to prove Xbox is pursuing the deal in an effort to eliminate PlayStation from the competition.
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan said in April that if the Activision acquisition happens, the company wouldn’t be able to share specs with developers for new consoles, since it’d be owned by a direct competitor. The news was shared on Twitter by @charlieINTEL.
This essentially means developers owned by Activision would be unable to make games for new PlayStation consoles, effectively making them Xbox and PC exclusives. Xbox has made it clear in the past that there are no plans to make major Activision franchises like Call Of Duty exclusive to its consoles, meaning if it were to happen this way, it’d be by PlayStation’s own doing. Then again, you can understand why PlayStation don't want to hand over trade secrets behind their consoles.
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Fans were not sympathetic for PlayStation in the comments, with many believing it’d be an illogical move for Sony to make that’d cause more harm than good in the long-term. “So what you're telling me is that COD will be exclusive [and] it's [because] of Sony, not Microsoft then yes? Let the deal go through, it's never been about exclusivity [and] losing the brand," one user said.
“I’m not too sure of the optics of this if this could backfire on Sony. For them to say this, there’s a chance it would. It’s a valid argument. Really curious to see how this could play out,” another comment read, while someone wrote, "Sounds like a personal problem for Sony.”
That being said, the deal between Microsoft and Activision is still in limbo, with both parties reportedly considering all possibilities to make the deal happen. This includes removing Activision Blizzard titles from the UK market, which experts have said to be one of the most likely outcomes.
Featured Image Credit: PlayStation, ActivisionTopics: PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Xbox, Activision, Activision Blizzard, Sony
