Xbox Thinks Game Pass Can Help Offset Tens of Millions in Lost Starfield and Indiana Jones Sales

admin July 13, 2023

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New court documents in ongoing dispute with FTC believe Microsoft could leverage Xbox Game Pass and console sales to offset losses incurred by Starfield and Indiana Jones’ console monopoly It is clear whether

In a new document highlighting the FTC’s final factual findings, the FTC cites testimony from Microsoft Gaming Chief Financial Officer Tim Stewart, who said Microsoft had “starfield and Indiana Jones” before the announcement. In both, he said he expected sales of “over 10 million” on PlayStation. We decided to make both games exclusive to Xbox.

According to the new court documents, Microsoft predicted that both Starfield and Indiana Jones would sell “over 10 million units” if they were available on the PlayStation.

Microsoft has announced plans to acquire ZeniMax in 2020, and besides honoring the timed exclusivity agreement PlayStation previously struck with ZeniMax for the timed console exclusivity of Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, the ZeniMax-affiliated developer will The project was announced as a console. Exclusive to Xbox consoles, including the aforementioned Starfield and Indiana Jones.

Various exclusive strategies for Xbox

Ahead of the testimony and FTC fact document findings, we learned: IGN France interview Before Microsoft acquired ZeniMax, Arkane Studios was working on the PS5 version of Redfall. Arkane Studios’ Harvey Smith said in an interview that the developers were then instructed to focus on “Game Pass, Xbox and PC.”

The FTC claims the production of these games is anti-competitive, but during the trial PlayStation head Jim Ryan said that in the case of Starfield (and Redfall), these games were both He admitted that being an Xbox exclusive isn’t “anti-competitive.”

In the meantime, Xbox has pledged to keep Call of Duty on as many platforms as possible, backed up by nearly a million documents filed in court.

Earlier this week, the FTC lost a case in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. In the case, regulators were unable to obtain a preliminary injunction against Microsoft as the tech giant tried to finalize its acquisition of Activision-Blizzard. The FTC announced yesterday that it will appeal the decision.

Taylor is a reporter for IGN. You can follow her on her Twitter @TayNixster.