Microsoft Claims Sony Pays Devs to Not Push Games to Xbox Game Pass

Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision-Blizzard keeps being reviewed by a number of regulatory bodies around the globe, including the US Federal Trade Commission, the UK Competition and Markets Authority, and Brazilian regulators who make all documents for the process available online.

Previously, the Brazilian Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) published the documents which we a part of the review process of the proposed deal revealing interviews with third parties who were asked about the upcoming deal and their points of view on the matter with Sony claiming that no publisher can create a Call of Duty competitor as Call of Duty is effectively a game category of its own.

In a recent filing submitted to the Brazilian authority, Microsoft also made a strong claim regarding its competitor. According to the company, Sony has paid "blocking rights" to developers to prevent their games from being added to Xbox Game Pass. Microsoft also alleged that Sony had "hampered" the growth of its Game Pass service by its business practices.

"Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been hampered by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth," Microsoft claimed (translated by The Verge). "Sony pays for 'blocking rights' to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services."

It is hard to say which titles Microsoft is referring to here, and it remains to be seen how Sony would respond to these comments.

You can find the full document here. Please note it's in Portuguese. Also, don't forget to join our Reddit page and our Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.