Sony permanently blocks Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy XVI, and two other games from coming to Xbox, Microsoft makes three Bethesda games Xbox and PC exclusive.
 
 
<span style="color:rgb(23,23,23); font-family:" helveticaneueblinkmacsystemfont-apple-systemsegoeuirobotohelveticaarialsans-serif="helveticaneueblinkmacsystemfont-apple-systemsegoeuirobotohelveticaarialsans-serif" _16px="font-size:_16px" italic="font-style:italic" normal="white-space:normal" _400="font-weight:_400" _2text-indent0px="orphans:_2text-indent0px" none="float:none" _2="widows:_2" _0px="_-webkit-text-stroke-width:_0px" rgb255255255="background-color:rgb255255255" initial="text-decoration-color:initial" inlineimportant="display:inlineimportant" left="text-align:left">In a reply to the UK CMA back in October, Microsoft has stated that Sony has permanently blocked popular titles such as Final Fantasy VII Remake (FF7R), Final Fantasy XVI (FFXVI), Bloodborne, and Silent Hill 2 remaster from coming to the Xbox. Microsoft, in turn, will be making three upcoming Bethesda games, likely Starfield, Redfall, and another unknown title, Xbox and PC exclusive.
 
 
According to Microsoft, Sony has effectively prevented games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake (FF7R), Final Fantasy XVI (FFXVI), Bloodborne, and Silent Hill 2 remaster from coming to the Xbox. The company said,
 
 
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https://www.notebookcheck.net/Sony-permanently-blocks-Final-Fantasy-VII-Remake-Final-Fantasy-XVI-and-two-other-games-from-coming-to-Xbox-Microsoft-makes-three-Bethesda-games-Xbox-and-PC-exclusive.676457.0.html

Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XVI will be PS5 exclusives forever. (Image Source: Square Enix Store)

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According to Insider Gaming sources, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan held an employee Q&amp;A earlier in December 2022, in which he implied that PlayStation doesn’t see Xbox Game Pass as competition. Regarding a question about Xbox Game Pass, Ryan reportedly claimed that the total number of subscribers seems to be getting lower, and it currently sits near low 20 million users. He also stated that the number of PlayStation Plus subscribers is just shy of 50 million by comparison. Fans should note that even though Insider Gaming has proven to be a reliable source, all rumors or leaks should be taken with a grain of salt.
 
 
full story link below:
 
https://gamerant.com/sony-xbox-game-pass-not-competition/

Sony Reportedly Doesn't See Xbox Game Pass as Competition

The bitter battle over Call of Duty on PlayStation is over as Sony signs a Microsoft deal. 
Sony has agreed to a 10-year deal for Call of Duty with Microsoft to keep the franchise on PlayStation after the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer says Sony and Microsoft have agreed to a “binding agreement” to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.
This ends a bitter battle between the companies that has been waged both privately and publicly over the past year after Microsoft announced its proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in January 2022.
 
While Microsoft’s initial announcement doesn’t mention 10 years for Call of Duty on PlayStation, Kari Perez, head of global communications at Xbox, confirmed the 10-year commitment to The Verge. Perez later confirmed to The Verge that the deal is only for Call of Duty, though. That makes the deal similar to a 10-year agreement <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/21/23608256/microsoft-nintendo-call-of-duty-agreement-legal-eu-hearing">between Microsoft and Nintendo</a>, but not the <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/15/23641071/microsoft-ubitus-call-of-duty-xbox-pc-games-deal-activision-blizzard-acquisition">various deals Microsoft has struck</a> with Nvidia and other cloud gaming platforms to bring Call of Duty and other Xbox / Activision games to rival services.
Microsoft’s original deal offer to Sony in January 2022 included keeping “all existing Activision console titles on Sony, including future versions in the Call of Duty franchise or any other current Activision franchise on Sony through December 31st, 2027.” The deal terms have clearly changed since that opening offer, with an extension to 10 years that’s limited to just Call of Duty.
But we heard a <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/22/23769790/sonys-playstation-chief-microsofts-activision-deal-xbox-exclusives-ftc">bombshell email from PlayStation chief Ryan</a> read out in court during the FTC v. Microsoft hearing, revealing that he wasn’t actually worried about Call of Duty exclusivity and was “pretty sure we will continue to see Call of Duty on PlayStation for many years to come.” Microsoft’s lawyers argued Ryan didn’t initially have concerns about the deal and had spoken to Xbox chief Phil Spencer to seek assurances about Call of Duty in January 2022.
The deal comes after months of discussions and counteroffers over the past 18 months between Microsoft and Sony over the future of Activision content on PlayStation. During the FTC v. Microsoft hearing, it was also revealed that an August 26th email from Xbox chief Spencer to PlayStation chief Ryan included a list of Activision games that would remain on PlayStation, and Ryan wasn’t happy.
This email clearly led to a breakdown in communications between Spencer and Ryan. Just days after it was sent, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/2/23334619/microsoft-sony-call-of-duty-playstation-letter-commitment-activision-blizzard">Spencer told The Verge</a> that Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation “for at least several more years beyond the current Sony contract.” Ryan wasn’t happy about Spencer going public with contract negotiations and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23341487/sony-microsoft-call-of-duty-offer-jim-ryan-statement-activision-blizzard">said the offer</a> was “inadequate on many levels and failed to take account of the impact on our gamers.”
Ryan also said at the time that he “hadn’t intended to comment on what I understood to be a private business discussion, but I feel the need to set the record straight because Phil Spencer brought this into the public forum.”
 
Tensions over the fate of Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard deal really came to a head when Jim Ryan spoke to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick on February 21st, 2023 — the same day Microsoft, Activision, Sony, and others were meeting with EU regulators.
<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/24/23654728/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-uk-cma-call-of-duty-playstation">Ryan said to Kotick</a>, “I don’t want a new Call of Duty deal. I just want to block your merger.” Jim Ryan confirmed the meeting during testimony in the FTC v. Microsoft hearing. “I told him [Bobby Kotick] that I thought the transaction was anti-competitive, I hoped that the regulators would do their job and block it.” Kotick had apparently wanted to “cover himself” with an extended Call of Duty deal with Sony just in case the Microsoft transaction didn’t go through. At the same time, Microsoft was <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/21/23608634/microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-nintendo-nvidia-partners">waving around a contract</a> in front of the world’s media trying to tempt Sony into signing a deal. 
Microsoft has always maintained it would keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, arguing it doesn’t make financial sense to pull the game from Sony’s consoles. Xbox chief Spencer <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/15/23459731/microsoft-call-of-duty-playstation-phil-spencer-comments">tried to settle the argument in November</a> before appearing in court last month and reiterating, under oath, that Call of Duty would remain on PlayStation 5.
All eyes are now on the regulatory situation in the UK, after Microsoft’s proposed deal was blocked there earlier this year. Microsoft is participating in a case management conference at the UK’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) tomorrow, alongside the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA). The conference has been called “to consider the application made jointly by all parties to adjourn these proceedings pending further discussions between the CMA and Microsoft.”
Both the CMA and Microsoft <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/11/23791149/microsoft-activision-blizzard-uk-regulators-cma-appeal">agreed earlier this week to pause their legal battles</a> to negotiate how the transaction might be modified in order to address the CMA’s cloud gaming concerns. The CMA <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/12/23792245/uk-cma-microsoft-activision-blizzard-deal-negotiations">also warned earlier this week</a> that Microsoft’s proposals may “lead to a new merger investigation” and that discussions with Microsoft were at an early stage.
Despite that, the CMA went on to <a href="https://www.theverge.com/microsoft/2023/7/14/23794698/the-cma-extends-its-final-order-date">issue a notice of extension</a> for its overall investigation into the deal, moving the date for a final order from July 18th to August 29th. Microsoft is hoping to close its Activision deal by its July 18th deadline, but it’s possible we’ll see a small delay to the close to allow for the UK situation to be resolved. 
By <a href="https://www.theverge.com/authors/tom-warren">Tom Warren</a>, a senior editor covering Microsoft, PC gaming, console, and tech. He founded WinRumors, a site dedicated to Microsoft news, before joining The Verge in 2012.
Jul 16, 2023, 10:05 PM GMT+8