SONY has been ordered to release a full list of all of its PlayStation exclusive games.
Microsoft subpoenaed PlayStation to produce a document of all the games it has signed to be console exclusive since 2012.
Call of Duty is the game PlayStation is the most concerned about.
PlayStation tried to quash the subpoena claiming that collecting the documents would be “unduly burdensome”.
As reported by VGC, Sony would have to review over 150k documents in order to collect the relevant data.
Despite PlayStation’s attempts, the European Federal Trade Commision (FTC) agreed with Microsoft that the list of exclusive games would be relevant to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit is regarding Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard.
Sony claims that if Microsoft acquires the company, it would cause Xbox to hold a monopoly in the gaming industry.
Xbox has consistently denied these claims, and even released data showing that it currently only holds 30/70 share of the global market compared to PlayStation.
PlayStation has claimed that by gaining access to Activision Blizzard’s IPs, the number of Xbox-exclusive titles would negatively affect competition.
Because of this, the FTC decided that Sony would have to show its own console-exclusive games to estimate the “effect on industry competitiveness”.
However, the FTC amended the subpoena so that only exclusives since 2019 need to be shown.
If the case goes to court in August 2023 as planned, then all released and upcoming PlayStation-exclusive games will be made public.
The court will then be able to compare the number of exclusive titles for each platform, and better estimate the potential effect on the market.
Microsoft is attempting to purchase Activision Blizzard for $69billion (£58billion) in one of the industry’s largest ever deals.
Xbox claims it is hoping to break into the mobile gaming market by acquiring the company’s successful mobile division, King.
King makes some of the world’s most popular mobile games such as Candy Crush.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
