If you are a fan of Sony’s PlayStation, you might want to brace for Activision games waves to hit. If you’ve been following recent news with Microsoft, the Federal Trade Commission’s case against the company was trying to prevent its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. However, the latest court has ruled the government will not be allowed to block the $68.7 billion transaction between the two companies.
Due to these events, major changes are coming to the gaming industry. Gamers have already seen a deal between Sony and Microsoft to keep the biggest Activision game, Call of Duty, on PlayStation for the next ten years. Now, it appears a new drama may be realized in the from of exclusive Xbox Game Pass titles.
That’s right, if you are a PlayStation fan who loves Activision games, Game Pass may be the only cloud streaming service to host the company’s titles. This means members of the PlayStation Plus subscription service may not be able to stream these games in the near future. Although there will certainly be more agreements to keep Activision games on PlayStation, they may never be streamable outside of Game Pass again.
This is important for Microsoft Xbox, especially since recent reports have shown Game Pass is one of the key programs keeping the console so successful. In fact, of the three available tiers, 70-80% of players are subscribed to Game Pass Ultimate, which is the highest possible option. An exclusive streaming tactic with Activision games could mean even more revenue flow in an area Microsoft relies on heavily for Xbox to thrive.
The Source of the Information and What Activision Games Being Exclusive Means to Xbox Game Pass
If you’re curious about the source indicating Activision games could become exclusive to Game Pass, the information actually comes from a report by the European Commission. The document in particular talks about regulation of the Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard merger procedure. Page 161 of the document explains the following:
“The Commission reiterates that, post-Transaction, Activision Blizzard’s games will likely be included in Game Pass Ultimate only, as opposed to (and to the exclusion of) other providers of cloud game streaming, enhancing the importance of Game Pass Ultimate significantly also vis-à-vis non-Windows OS.”
This language tends to indicate PlayStation Plus will suffer the loss of Activision games content in the future. This could somewhat cripple the Sony subscription service, when it comes to offering a wide variety of catalog titles. The most significant Activision games include: Tony Hawk Pro Skater, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Call of Duty, and Sekiro. If all of these become exclusive to Xbox Game Pass for cloud streaming, it will have a major impact on fans of those franchises.
Although Microsoft came to an agreement with PlayStation over Call of Duty, the Xbox producer is determined to compete with the other gaming systems. This means Activision games could become more exclusive, covering more than Game Pass. It is very possible in the near future most Activision titles will be exclusive to the Xbox. If this occurs, it will provide an advantage Microsoft has not had in the past decade, fighting against PlayStation. The Sony console has released a lot of exclusive game content, and Microsoft is ready to respond.
What do you think of the possibility Activision games will only be available for streaming on Game Pass? Will it change the dynamic of the so called “console wars?” Leave a comment and let us know what you think of this potential change.
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Source: European Commission Document
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