Sony permanently blocks Final Fantasy VII Remake, Final Fantasy XVI, and two other games from coming to Xbox, Microsoft makes three Bethesda games Xbox and PC exclusive

Microsoft’s US$68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard is not going down well with regulators with the Redmond-giant having to respond to both the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the UK CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) on the need for the deal to go through. Back in October, Microsoft confirmed to the UK CMA that Sony on it’s part has set up permanent Xbox-exclusion deals for several titles on the PlayStation.

According to Microsoft, Sony has effectively prevented games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake (FF7R), Final Fantasy XVI (FFXVI), Bloodborneand Silent Hill 2 remaster from coming to the Xbox. The company said,

In addition to having outright exclusive content, Sony has also entered into arrangements with third-party publishers which require the “exclusion” of Xbox from the set of platforms these publishers can distribute their games on. Some prominent examples of these agreements 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 (Bloober team).”

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was originally intended to be a timed exclusive for the PS5, with the hope that it will eventually make it to the Xbox. However, this clause was apparently only intended for the PC version of the game, which is now available on Steam, and not for Xbox.

Final Fantasy XVI is launching as a PS5-exclusive on June 22, 2023. It can be assumed that the title will eventually make it to the PC at least, but Square Enix is yet to confirm the same. Square Enix has a six-month exclusivity deal with Sony for this game with “other platforms” slated to get it only from December 31, 2023 onwards. With Sony’s move, we can now be pretty sure that Xbox does not figure among the “other platforms”.

The FTC’s concerns with the Microsoft-Activision deal come in the wake of Microsoft deciding to make Bethesda Softworks games such as Starfield and Redfall along with another unnamed title exclusive to Xbox and Windows. However, Microsoft has stated in its response that it will continue to support multiplatform Bethesda titles such as Fallout 76, The Elder Scrolls Onlineand Minecraft.

Microsoft is buying Activision to meet the billions of gamers who choose to play on mobile devices instead of a console or PC, and to learn how to make games that appeal to and engage them. Xbox also wants to make Activision’s non-mobile games more broadly available.”

According to Microsoft, the main motivation for buying Activision Blizzard is not for AAA franchises like Call of Dutybut to tap into the huge mobile gaming market — Activision developer King Digital Entertainment makes the popular Candy Crush mobile games.

Microsoft wants to demonstrate its multiplatform commitment by bringing Call of Duty to the Nintendo Switch and Steam. Apparently, the company had extended a hand to Sony as well but to no avail.

The Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal is expected to be completed by June 2023, pending regulator approval.

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Though a cell and molecular biologist by training, I have been drawn towards computers from a very young age ever since I got my first PC in 1998. My passion for technology grew quite exponentially with the times, and it has been an incredible experience from being a much solicited source for tech advice and troubleshooting among family and friends to joining Notebookcheck in 2017 as a professional tech journalist. Now, I am a Lead Editor at Notebookcheck covering news and reviews encompassing a wide gamut of the technology landscape for Indian and global audiences. When I am not hunting for the next big story or taking complex measurements for reviews, you can find me unwinding to a nice read, listening to some soulful music, or trying out a new game.