Both Sony and Microsoft said a lot of stupid things to regulators in different regions, respectively stopping or approving the latter’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The first question asked was whether the deal would result in Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, and more becoming Xbox exclusives. The head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, was quick to say that’s not necessarily the case, as they clearly want to make games available to more people around the world. There will obviously be some exceptions, and Sony’s lawyers will certainly use this.
Because IGN chatted with Arkane studio director Harvey Smith as part of the latest Redfall preview (you can find Alex’s impressions here), and he revealed that Redfall will also launch on PlayStation 5 initially. That changed when the company was acquired by Microsoft, as the studio was told to cancel the PS5 release and instead focus on the Xbox series and PC.
It’s not an odd decision, but Sony is sure to highlight it at its next meeting with the U.K. Competition and Markets Authority in an attempt to convince regulators that Microsoft might do something similar with Activision Blizzard games if the deal is approved. .