Microsoft has admitted that Sony’s PlayStation exclusives like God of War and Spider-Man are better than its Xbox exclusives. In a response to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Issues Statement, the company acknowledged Sony had more PS5 and PS4 exclusive games than they had on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One, and that they’re both more successful and achieve better reviews.
Microsoft feels PlayStation exclusives are better quality than Xbox games
Sony has more exclusive games for PS5 and PS4 than Microsoft has for Xbox, “many of which are better quality,” Microsoft put in their response to the CMA. In fact, both Sony and Nintendo’s games “rank among the best-selling in Europe and worldwide”. As well as God of War and Marvel’s Spider-Man, Microsoft also named The Last of Us and Ghost of Tsushima as those better than its own exclusive games.
Microsoft claims that Sony’s PlayStation-exclusive titles account for 10-20% of their rival’s global game sales in 2024. In contrast, Microsoft’s Xbox-exclusive games accounted for just 0-10% of their global game sales. Sony’s review scores are better too, with an average of 87/100 on Metacritic for their exclusive games compared to 80/100 for Microsoft.
It is for reasons like this that Microsoft contests the argument that Sony would no longer be able to compete with Microsoft if they acquired Activision. On the other hand, Sony claims that Microsoft will withhold Call of Duty from services like PS Plus, and this will seriously impact how effectively PS Plus can compete with Xbox Game Pass. The in-depth investigation into the deal in Europe continues.
