PlayStation May Have to Reveal How Much it Pays to Keep Games off Xbox Game Pass

Xbox's proposed purchase of Activision Blizzard has led to a massive battle with PlayStation, with Sony asserting that the deal could hurt competition throughout the video game industry. Xbox has subpoenaed for access to many of PlayStation's internal documents to help build its case, and a large majority of those requests were granted by the Federal Trade Commission of the United States, following an attempt by Sony to quash it. One of the most interesting requests granted will allow Microsoft access to PlayStation's licensing agreements, allowing them to see how much Sony has been paying for certain exclusive games, and incentives that are in place to keep games off Xbox Game Pass. 

"Microsoft states that it is aware that SIE requires many third-party publishers to agree to exclusivity provisions, including preventing the publishers from putting their games on Xbox's multi-game subscription service, and that understanding the full extent of SIE's exclusivity arrangements and their effect on industry competitiveness will assist in its defense," the FTC order reads.

Microsoft has long maintained that PlayStation has put deals in place to prevent games from coming to Xbox Game Pass, though no evidence of such deals has ever been made public. However, the FTC's ruling will now make some of that information public, and it will be interesting to see what comes out. PlayStation is well within its legal rights to make these types of deals, but it will be hard for the company to argue that Microsoft is hurting competition if it's paying publishers significant amounts of money to not release games on Xbox, and on Game Pass in particular.

It's very much possible that the data could help Microsoft sway the FTC on the deal. The EU's European Commission is reportedly satisfied with Microsoft's licensing deals with companies like Nintendo, which would guarantee Call of Duty's presence on a platform it doesn't currently exist on. Given these facts, it could be very hard for PlayStation to prove that this deal would hurt consumers and competition in the industry.

Do you think Microsoft's purchase of Activision Blizzard will go through? Do you think that it should? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: Game Developer]