Outside of platform exclusivity, Microsoft’s Activision buyout could throw a spanner in the works when it comes to PlayStation’s plans for a Game Pass rival.
Industry analyst Micheal Pachter thinks that the deal is all about combatting PlayStation’s upcoming game streaming service.
“The most important aspect of the Activision buy is that the content will NEVER be available on Sony’s streaming service,” he explains.
“Microsoft already has a deal for EA’s catalogue, and Take-Two has never shown much interest.”
Xbox Game Pass is a Netflix type service that lets subscribers stream a huge library of games for free.
It offers a huge library of video games from previous console generations, as well as brand new titles on launch day.
The service is around the price of a typical monthly entertainment subscription, starting from £7.99 / $9.99 per month.
Sony is rumoured to be working on its own version, codenamed Project Spartacus.
But Microsoft’s impending acquisition could cripple the service straight out of the gate.
Pachter says it’s “hard to say where Sony will hit back, as it is running out of third party content for its subscription service.”
Sony will almost certainly appeal to the FTC and EU Competition Commission over exclusivity but that won’t necessarily help with Project Spartacus.
You can check out which games could be banned from PS5 here.
- Read the latest stories for PS5
- Keep up-to-date with all the Xbox news
- Read the latest gaming news
