This give and take between the two big console manufacturers, Microsoft and Sony (because Nintendo goes along with it, mostly), continues to rise in tone with each statement from one side or the other. It’s clear that Sony doesn’t want the Xbox and Activision Blizzard union to happen, but their arguments for them are as detachable as their own actions show. And this is where future releases of Final Fantasy XVI and Silent Hill 2 Remake come into play.
We say this because in Microsoft’s latest response to the CMA, responsible for competition in the United Kingdom, it has revealed, via Eurogamerwhat Sony has entered into “opt-out” agreements for Xbox platforms, such as Bloodborne, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Final Fantasy XVI and Silent Hill 2 Remake, which implicitly indicate that those games should not reach Xbox consoles. In this way, Microsoft has defended its position charging against the explicit actions of Sony:
In addition to having rights to exclusive content, Sony has also made agreements with Third-Party distributors that require Xbox to be excluded from the platforms where these distributors can release their games.
Some prominent examples of these (exclusivity) deals include Final Fantasy VII Remake (Square Enix), Bloodborne (From Software), the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI (Square Enix) and the recently announced Silent Hill 2 Remastered (Konami/Bloober Team).
Xbox reveals Sony’s operations and its paid exclusives
Of course, in this rivalry and competition between the two companies, it is totally valid for Sony to ensure these exclusives as its own, whatever it may be and with any contract. What is not valid is that he then puts that same exclusivity operation in the mouth of the opponent, as if they were innocent saints and had no choice but to do it to compete. Of course, in this house, Xbox Generation, we are in favor of Microsoft in this case, but do not doubt that if it were the other way around, we would also criticize them, because it is demagogy in its purest form.
You also have to always put yourself in the concept of “could”, and perhaps Microsoft would be exaggerating these statements, which for the moment are completely true, for their benefit before the competent bodies. And it is that, in this case, Final Fantasy XVI indicates an exclusivity on PS5 of at least two years, and in the case of Silent Hill 2 Remake, of one year, so there is a possibility that they will finally arrive. But now we tell you: Where is Final Fantasy VII Remake for Xbox then? His supposed exclusivity has already ended and he was never heard from again. Of course, on PC, they have already released two versions of it, just as it happens on PS5. Perhaps Microsoft is wrong and both will finally arrive, but seeing what we have seen, we highly doubt it.
