Starfield
Bethesda
Okay, look, this idea might sound crazy, but this whole situation is proving to be crazier and crazier as time goes on, so I’m not ruling anything out when it comes to Microsoft trying to secure that Activision Blizzard deal after. regulator recoil powered by Sony.
The current situation is that the FTC is suing to block the deal in part because they believe Microsoft misled regulators and said or implied they shouldn’t take Bethesda games like Starfield or Elder Scrolls exclusive when it was proposed that deal, even though that’s what they ultimately did. EU regulators seem to question this, saying Microsoft never specifically promised it, but it’s something the FTC seems concerned about anyway, and it’s been at the heart of this whole case. If huge games like Elder Scrolls and Starfield have been made exclusive in the wake of a multi-billion dollar acquisition, why couldn’t that happen with Call of Duty, even if Microsoft says it isn’t?
Enter my wild idea: that Microsoft changes its mind and promises that Starfield will also release on PlayStation. Maybe not day and date with its Xbox Game Pass launch, but they promise it will come to PlayStation if Sony allows it.
Do you think this sounds crazy? Well guess what? You also do the other things Microsoft is currently trying to do to appease regulators, like signing 10-year Call of Duty contracts with Nintendo and offering the same to Sony. These are things that just don’t happen in the industry, and if that’s the extent of convincing regulators that Microsoft isn’t trying to monopolize big games with its megastudio purchases, I won’t say it’s impossible.
Starfield
Bethesda
Microsoft, of course, is under no obligation to do anything remotely like this, as a basic rebuttal to Sony’s “concerns” is that Sony has been built on a huge slate of exclusive games for decades and which seem quite hypocritical. . But Microsoft is showing that it will do whatever it takes to get this deal done, and if that means sacrificing the exclusivity of one or two games from its $7 billion deal to save its $70 billion deal, then maybe they will do.
What if… if Microsoft announced that it was releasing Starfield on the PlayStation? Would PlayStation really agree, knowing it would help Microsoft’s takeover case? But also knowing that it would be a huge hit to Microsoft’s roster and that Starfield would likely find a lot more players on PlayStation? Would Xbox gamers be furious about this? Or would they be satisfied that they at least get Starfield “free” with Game Pass while Sony players have to pay $70?
Look, do I think this is likely to happen? No, but I also don’t mean it’s totally impossible considering how wild they’ve gotten here already, and how far Microsoft has been willing to bend to get this deal done so far. See me…
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