(Pocket-lint) – Sony has tipped its hand a bit on what it thinks of Microsoft’s acquisition of Xbox, thanks to newly discovered comments it provided to the Brazilian regulator investigating the deal.
Unlike other processes, all information supplied to the Brazilian regulator must be made public, which has allowed some eagle-eyed Resetera users to dig up Sony’s thoughts.
The answers he provides have a wide range of contexts, but some particularly juicy sections address the importance of Call of Duty specifically and how it affects the console market.
In particular, Sony effectively boosts the franchise massively, accurately describing it as the biggest gaming franchise, one that has huge resources behind it and regularly sells in huge volumes.
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He claims the game is “essential” and says the brand is so powerful that it almost certainly influences gamers’ choice of console when they come to buy. This is obviously aimed at the possibility that Xbox might make COD a console exclusive at some point down the line.
The document in question, which you can access from the list here, is in Portuguese labeled “Email from Sony (Resp. ao Of. 4108/2022 + procuração)”, but it is translated quite clearly and contains some interesting insights into just how much Sony sees COD (or at least how they want it to look).
What this means for the regulator is difficult to calculate at this stage, but it may affect Xbox in some way. We know that the next COD games will come to PlayStation consoles due to existing contracts, and Microsoft has indicated that it might continue after that, but nothing is certain.
He had good calls this week with Sony leaders. I confirmed our intention to honor all existing agreements following the Activision Blizzard acquisition and our desire to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation. Sony is an important part of our industry and we value our relationship.
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) January 20, 2022
It’s hard to say whether that’s actually years away yet, but it’s something regulators will no doubt be considering in various jurisdictions as they scrutinize the Xbox-Activision deal.
Written by Max Freeman-Mills.