June 12th 2024.
At The Game Awards, there was a bit of a back-and-forth between Microsoft's Phil Spencer and former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden. Spencer's comments about Call Of Duty: Black Ops 6 and its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass were met with some playful snark from Layden.
It seems that not only do issues within the games industry repeat themselves, but old rivalries between company executives do as well. During an interview with IGN after the Xbox Games Showcase, Spencer discussed bringing Black Ops 6 to Xbox Game Pass and how he wanted to give players the choice in how they play games.
He emphasized that it was a choice and that they didn't force anyone to subscribe in order to play. He also mentioned that if players wanted to buy the game, that was great for both Microsoft and the developers. But if they wanted to subscribe, that was great too.
Spencer's main focus was on giving players the choice in how they play and who they play with, without resorting to what he called "slimy platform things." This seemed to be a dig at Sony's marketing deal for Call Of Duty, which gave PlayStation players extra features and modes not available on other platforms.
After these quotes were shared online, Layden, who was the president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment America from 2014 to 2019, responded with a mocking gif. He also "liked" various responses on Twitter that took issue with Spencer's remarks. For example, one tweet mentioned how buying billion-dollar publishers could be considered "slimy" as well.
During the Xbox Games Showcase, Spencer also seemed to make a dig at PlayStation's prior exclusivity deals while introducing Black Ops 6. He noted that it had been 10 years since Call Of Duty appeared at the show and even longer since all players got the game at the same time.
Layden, who now works as an advisor in the gaming industry, recently shared his thoughts on platform exclusivity and believes it is becoming less important for established brands like PlayStation and Xbox.
When Black Ops 6 releases in October, both Xbox and PlayStation players will be on a level playing field. It remains to be seen if its inclusion in Xbox Game Pass will help boost subscriber numbers.
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In other news, Xbox is making a handheld device and is also releasing more multi-format games, according to Phil Spencer. And for fans of the classic FPS franchise, Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to Xbox and PlayStation 5 and looks incredibly metal.
However, PlayStation's answer to Overwatch, called Concord, isn't going over well with fans. If you want to stay up to date on all the exclusive gaming content and get a first look at new releases, be sure to sign up for our newsletter. Your privacy is important to us, so we use reCAPTCHA and Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service to protect your information.
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