New Internal Email Reveals Microsoft Ambition To “Spend Sony Out Of Business” To Battle PlayStation

The ongoing theatrics between Microsoft and the FTC in court hearings & preliminary injunctions continues to reveal new information on what Microsoft true intentions are or actions to bring more content to Xbox. As part of the hearing this week, it reveals that Microsoft at one point intended to seek Bungie & Sega as potential candidates for their acquisition plans to bolster Xbox Game Pass.

Additionally, Xbox head Phil Spencer went on to address that aggressive third-party exclusive deals would not be pursued by Microsoft following the deal if processed officially. However, the industry has witnessed Microsoft perform the same act in the past and even with upcoming Bethesda titles. Spencer goes on to note that in a separate report that the deal in post-acquisition would not improve Xbox’s placement against PlayStation & Nintendo.

According to a new discovery as part of an internal email sent by Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty back in late 2019, he expressed that one desire for Microsoft to climb the console ranks is to purchase against its competitor – namely PlayStation. Booty expressed this ambition is to better Xbox Game Pass as Sony is the only threat against the firm’s growing subscription. You can view the email in the image below:

“We (Microsoft) are in a very unique position to be able to go spend Sony out of business,” Booty writes in the email. “If we think that video game content matters in 10 years, we might look back and say, ‘Totally would have been worth it to lose $2B or $3B in 2020 to avoid a situation where Tencent, Google, Amazon or even Sony have become the Disney of games and own most of the valuable content’.”

To The Verge, Microsoft general manager of public affairs David Cuddy responds to the email. “This email is three and a half years old and predates the announcement of our acquisition by 25 months. It refers to industry trends we never pursued and is unrelated to the acquisition.” However, that is a difficult argument to make following Bethesda and now in process for the $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal.

One major shift from the deal if it goes to Microsoft will be between Activision & Sony. If the deal is completed, Sony Interactive Entertainment president & CEO Jim Ryan explained that information regarding new PlayStation hardware will be withheld to the publisher. It is claimed this could drastically affect the games overall output. You can read the full report by heading here.

What is your impression from the statement made by Booty in the email?

Source: The Verge