As part of the lawsuit over the takeover of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft has taken Sony to court. Goal: For the giant to unveil its roadmap.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End // Sony – Naughty Dog
Microsoft has called Sony to court in the context of a case between Microsoft and the FTC to take over Activision Blizzard. A maneuver that should allow the Xbox maker to refute certain FTC and Sony arguments.
Confirmation that Microsoft has sued Sony Interactive Entertainment as it tries to defend itself against an FTC lawsuit against MS’s Activision bid.
Sony notes that MS first tried this on January 12th, but had to repeat it on January 17th.
— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) January 23, 2023
According to case documents shared by reporter Steven Totilo, Sony has until January 27 to respond to the subpoena by objecting to it or answering questions from Microsoft.
Future Sony games in the focus of Xbox
In the FTC’s arguments, there is a risk for the PlayStation to lose access to the same spicy license as Call of Duty. The game would be indispensable for Xbox competitors, according to the US antitrust authority, which decided to sue Microsoft at the end of 2022.
Microsoft would like to demonstrate otherwise, in particular with the PlayStation production roadmap. Therefore, the firm wants to force Sony to reveal to the court and Microsoft its future games for the coming years.
While embarrassing its rival, it’s hard to imagine Sony enjoying revealing its secrets to its adversary, this Microsoft strategy should show that the PlayStation will be more than capable of consistently delivering great games that can be sold on consoles, even without Call of Duty.
Lawyers for Microsoft and Sony are now in talks to better delineate the perimeter of the PlayStation maker’s testimony and the scope of what the latter will have to bring to justice.
Do you want to join the community of enthusiasts? Our Discord welcomes you, it’s a place of mutual help and passion for technology.