Amid a devastating data breach at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 developer Insomniac Games, leaked slides raise concerns within Sony about rival Microsoft’s new strategy following its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard. It was revealed.
Sony described the acquisition as a “breakthrough” that brings Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush and more to Xbox. Additionally, Microsoft says it is now in a position to “leapfrog its current pillars.”
Sony points to the benefits of the acquisition, with Microsoft having strong live service games, scale on mobile, and a ready-made PC storefront for Battle.net. He also mentioned that Microsoft is building its own mobile app store to compete with Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, something Xbox chief Phil Spencer has said in the past. He has said it many times.
Sony went on to express concerns about a Call of Duty “threat” arriving in 2027. To appease antitrust regulators, Microsoft struck a deal with Sony to keep Call of Duty on the PlayStation, and that deal ends in 2027, according to these internal documents. 2027. Sony predicts a “huge” threat to its subscription service PlayStation Plus, which generates $1.5 billion in annual revenue.
Microsoft plans to bring Activision Blizzard’s games directly to rival subscription service Game Pass, and there’s also a “time and date threat.” Microsoft has said it won’t release games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Diablo 4 to Game Pass until 2024, but next year’s Call of Duty game will reportedly be released directly to Game Pass as Black Ops: Gulf War. Pass seems likely to be released on Pass.
In the document, Sony acknowledged that its “pillars are already outdated and lagging behind our competitors” and lamented the “elusive perfect gaming subscription.” Sony said expectations for free, best-in-class video games are creating an “unsustainable model” where subscription revenues cannot cover investments.
Sony said that due to the diversity of form factors and computer capabilities, a unified console, PC, and mobile experience is “non-existent.” Sony’s core approach remains the premium sales model, the company said.
Internal documents highlight Microsoft and Sony’s contrasting strategies. Microsoft releases games daily on PC and Xbox, and directly to Game Pass, whereas Sony releases games on PlayStation first, then, in some cases, years later, he releases them on PC, and in some cases PS. Release the game on Plus.
PlayStation head Jim Ryan said in June 2023 that video game publishers don’t like Xbox Game Pass. During his pre-recorded testimony, evidentiary hearing Between the Federal Trade Commission and Microsoft, Ryan argued that publishers don’t like Microsoft’s video game subscription service because it “destroys value.”
“I’ve talked to all the publishers and they unanimously don’t like Game Pass because it destroys value,” Ryan said in his testimony. Shortly before that, Ryan claimed that Game Pass was not profitable for Microsoft. “There seem to be some challenges with the Game Pass business model, and Microsoft seems to be losing a lot of money on this,” Ryan said.
However, these comments were published before Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, and now things have changed. It looks like the game has changed a lot for Sony.
The devastating Insomniac leak comes as Sony’s push for live service games is in jeopardy. Last month, Sony President Hiroki Totoki said the company was reviewing the 12 live-service PlayStation games in development and was committed to launching just six of them by the end of March 2026. . Totoki said Sony is still working on development while the remaining six games are up and running. He added that there will also be service games, and that he is “not particular about any particular title, but quality should be the most important thing for gamers.” But one is already gone for good, as Naughty Dog canceled The Last of Us multiplayer game in December 2023 to focus on single-player titles.
Sony has spent a lot of money acquiring studios as part of its live service push, bringing in Destiny developer Bungie, Jade Raymond’s Haven Studios, and Firewalk Studios. Sony reportedly worked with Bungie, which has live services expertise for the Destiny series, to evaluate its portfolio and scaled back some live services projects as a result.
Bungie is working on Marathon, a sci-fi extraction shooter with a focus on PvP. What Heaven Studio is working on is: fair game $, a competitive heist game about robbing the super wealthy. Firewalk Studios is working on: concorde, another sci-fi PvP multiplayer game.There is also Guerrilla’s Horizon Multiplayer Game and Co-op action game from London Studios on PlayStation. And from the Insomniac data breach we learned that the developer himself is planning a large number of multiplayer games.
Wesley is IGN’s UK News Editor. Find me on Twitter @wyp100. Wesley can be contacted at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.