According to THEVERGE today, Microsoft Corp said in a document submitted to Brazilian regulators that Sony Group Corp prevented developers from adding their games to XboxGamePass by paying fees to developers.
Microsoft Corp said in a document submitted to the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Protection (CADE) on August 9: "Microsoft Corp's ability to continue to expand GamePass has been hindered by Sony Group Corp."Sony Group Corp pays for "blocking rights" to prevent developers from adding content to GamePass and other competitive subscription services”。
It is not clear what Microsoft Corp is referring to here, as contracts for publishing games tend to be complex, especially when it comes to streaming and subscription services. As a result, Sony Group Corp may only pay an exclusive fee for his own streaming service, or it may have a clause in some publishing contracts to prevent some games published by Sony Group Corp from being released in rival subscription services.
In addition, Microsoft Corp said in the document: "considering that exclusive games have always been the strategic core of Sony Group Corp to strengthen its position in the game industry, and that Sony Group Corp is a leader in the field of digital game distribution, Sony Group Corp is worried about the possible monopoly of Activision games." And Microsoft Corp said that Sony Group Corp "does not want attractive subscription services to threaten its dominant position in the digital distribution market for console games." In other words, Sony Group Corp opposes the emergence of a new profit model that can challenge his business model.
This reveals Sony Group Corp's fear of the new industry model and shows that XboxGamePass's strategy of providing high-quality content to players at low prices threatens Sony Group Corp's leadership position formed by a device-centric and monopoly-focused strategy over the years.
IT House learned that Sony Group Corp submitted an objection to Microsoft Corp's acquisition of Activision Blizzard to Brazilian regulators last month. In addition, Sony Group Corp opposed Microsoft Corp's $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard by saying that he could not make a game comparable to Activision's call of Duty to Microsoft Corp's Xbox.