Microsoft Alleges Sony is Paying Developers to Exclude Games from Game Pass

According to a document submitted to Brazilian regulators, Microsoft asserts that Sony has been compensating developers to prevent their games from being included on subscription services such as Game Pass. This accusation was reported by VGC. The document states that Microsoft's efforts to expand Game Pass have been hindered by Sony's attempts to suppress its growth. Sony allegedly pays for 'blocking rights' to prevent developers from adding their content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services. Previously, Sony had expressed concerns to the regulator that Call of Duty is a defining title in the first-person shooter genre, and that even a competitor with a comparable budget could not rival it. Microsoft responded by calling Sony's concerns about Call of Duty potentially becoming an Xbox exclusive 'incoherent', given Sony's own history of using exclusivity strategies for the PlayStation brand. Microsoft believes that Sony's concerns are rooted in a fear of the innovative business model offered by Game Pass, which provides high-quality content at a low cost to gamers and threatens Sony's dominance in the console game digital distribution market. Microsoft suggests that Sony's actions are motivated by a desire to maintain its dominance and avoid disruption to its business model.