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A ransomware group that hacked Insomniac Games several days ago have today started to release confidential files which include a ton of assets from upcoming games, pre-alpha gameplay and a bunch of internal slides.
One of these slides includes Sony's comments on Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and how such a merger can disrupt the industry and potentially threaten the PlayStation business.
Sony say in the slide that the acquisition of Activision Blizzard "provides incredible strategic value across live service games, scale in mobile, and PC storefronts".
Sony also mention Call of Duty, as the big threat in 2027. The slide mentions that players could shift from PlayStation to Xbox if Microsoft started offering exclusive content and day one release on Game Pass. Additionally, Sony fear that their subscription service PlayStation Plus could suffer massively due to day and date releases of Activision Blizzard games on Game Pass.
"Microsoft's comprehensive ecosystem coupled with exclusivity creates greater dominance," Sony conclude.
Interestingly, the slide also mentions that Sony's pillars are already dated and behind the competition and that the publisher need to expand further to compete. They mention that the subscription model would be unsustainable as monthly and incremental subs would not cover the massive investment fees.
All in all, it's certainly a very interesting slide that shows Sony's thoughts on the acquisition from a very different perspective. We knew from the leaked FTC documents that Jim Ryan was not worried by the acquisition but stated in court that the PlayStation business would never recover if Microsoft got Call of Duty.
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