According to Gary Whitta, speaking on the Kinda Funny Games Daily YouTube series, Sony paid to block indie hit Cult of the Lamb from appearing on Xbox's Game Pass service. If true, this is a grossly anti-consumer move that devalues Game Pass and potentially prevents breakout indies from reaching a wider audience, all for Sony's profits.
"Somebody told me that part of the reason why [Cult of the Lamb is] not on Game Pass is Sony paid [the developer] not to put it on Game Pass," Whitta said to Blessing Adeoye. "It will then incentivise you to not do any additional subscriber deals with competing platforms."
Microsoft recently accused sony of exactly this, paying developers to prevent games from coming to Game Pass. Sony recently expressed concern over Microsoft's Activision Blizzard buyout, believing Call of Duty being a console exclusive would draw customers away from PlayStation.
Microsoft responded, "Considering that exclusivity strategies have been at the core of Sony’s strategy to strengthen its presence in the games industry, and that Sony is a leader in the distribution of digital games, Sony’s concern with possible exclusivity of Activision‘s content is incoherent, to say the least.
"Microsoft’s ability to continue expanding Game Pass has been obstructed by Sony’s desire to inhibit such growth. Sony pays for ‘blocking rights’ to prevent developers from adding content to Game Pass and other competing subscription services."
Whitta explains some potential reasoning behind Sony's alleged interference. "If you've got to make a choice between paying $70 for [a game] on PlayStation or getting it essentially for free as part of the Game Pass subscription you've already paid for, no brainer!"
He acknowledges the phenomenon goes both ways, and a game available as part of PS Plus but paid on Xbox is more likely to be played on Sony's console by the people who own both. That's an admittedly small number of players, but by enticing people to consider one service as more valuable than the other, Sony is allegedly trying to attract players by devaluing Game Pass, not making PS Plus better, which is a grossly anti-consumer move if true.
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