Is Microsoft planning to make an Xbox Series XX or XXX? Maybe not, as the company has admitted that it has “lost the console wars” as part of a new document that stems from the FTC’s new case against Microsoft’s pending, $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, something that the U.S. regulator clearly doesn’t think is the greatest idea. “Xbox has lost the console wars, and its rivals are positioned to continue to dominate,” reads one portion of the document highlighted by The Verge, while another points out how Xbox has “consistently ranked third in consoles behind PlayStation and Nintendo.” Many Xbox fans are calling this a shame, reasoning that Microsoft has delivered some very nice hardware this generation.
From The Verge:
In five days of hearings this week and next, the FTC is seeking an injunction to block the merger while its own administrative case plays out over the coming months. If the FTC is successful, Microsoft has said it might walk away from the deal altogether. The stakes are extremely high.
The FTC is concerned that Microsoft could make Activision content exclusive to Xbox and not available on rival consoles, cloud gaming services, and multi-game subscription services. Here’s what its complaint says:
“Microsoft’s ownership of Activision would provide Microsoft with the ability to withhold or degrade Activision content through various means, including manipulating Activision’s pricing, degrading game quality or player experience on rival offerings, changing the terms and timing of access to Activision’s content, or withholding content from competitors.”
The merger could affect a long list of companies — Nvidia, Nintendo, EA, Epic Games, Ubisoft, and Tencent, to name but a few. But one player in particular is omnipresent: Sony.
