Lawyer explains why Microsoft\u2019s end goal might be Xbox Game Pass on PS5 Microsoft \/ SonyAn entertainment lawyer has broken down what Microsoft\u2019s true end goal may be in terms of exclusivity following the purchase of Activision Blizzard. As he sees it, this could all lead to Xbox Game Pass on PS4 and PS5. On January 18, Microsoft shocked practically everyone by purchasing Activision Blizzard for a reported $70 billion. While the deal\u2019s effects aren\u2019t immediate, it does mean that portfolio games like Call of Duty, Overwatch, and World of Warcraft will fall under Microsoft\u2019s umbrella by June 2023. The gaming world\u2019s reaction, outside of surprise, has quickly trended toward the exclusivity conversation. While Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer discussed concerns over Xbox-exclusivity, his answers were fairly ambiguous. With Call of Duty players particularly worried about exclusivity, the questions haven\u2019t quieted. Entertainment lawyer Simon Pulman has a theoretical answer, though: CoD won\u2019t have to be Xbox-exclusive if Sony implements Game Pass \u2013 which just might be Microsoft\u2019s goal. Can Microsoft bring Xbox Game Pass to PS5 and PS4? In a LinkedIn thread, Pulman (who is a Partner at Cowan, DeBaets, Abrahams & Sheppard LLP) discussed what the Microsoft acquisition could mean. Given CoD\u2019s prominence in North America, he honed in on the franchise\u2019s future. In one comment, Pulman explained that \u201cCall of Duty now being Xbox-exclusive and day one Game Pass starting in 2023\/24 is transformative for the gaming business in Europe and NA.\u201d While this is a reasonable take, and one that PS players are likely worried about, Pulman doesn\u2019t believe it\u2019s Microsoft\u2019s true end goal. As he explained, the possibility gives Microsoft the negotiating power to pull something even bigger off: \u201cThis provides massive leverage for Microsoft to get what I believe it really wants: Game Pass on PlayStation.\u201d Pulman\u2019s theory does hold some interesting weight. When asked about Xbox exclusivity, Spencer said \u201cto players out there who are playing Activision Blizzard games on Sony\u2019s platform: It\u2019s not our intent to pull communities away from that platform.\u201d Not making their games Xbox-exclusive would be an easy way to let those communities stay on PlayStation. A more profitable alternative would likely be to use their leverage and get Sony to implement Game Pass on their systems. Read more: Will Call of Duty still be on PlayStation? – While it remains unclear how negotiations will unfold, the Game Pass idea is an intriguing one. With Microsoft\u2019s Bethesda franchises (like Starfield and Elder Scrolls) already hinting toward exclusivity, the possibility of Sony losing titles like CoD and Overwatch isn\u2019t far-fetched.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lawyer explains why Microsoft\u2019s end goal might be Xbox Game Pass on PS5 Microsoft \/ SonyAn entertainment lawyer has broken down what Microsoft\u2019s true end goal may be in terms of exclusivity following the purchase of Activision Blizzard. As he sees it, this could all lead to Xbox Game Pass on PS4 and PS5. On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21904"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21904\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}