EA, Not Activision, Is Microsoft and PlayStation’s Biggest Supplier
Another day, another gem unearthed from Microsoft Activision deal‘s regulator fiasco. This time, it’s the Xbox maker’s claim that Activision Blizzard isn’t even close to being PlayStation’s biggest third-party supplier. Apparently, it ranks fifth.
Electronic Arts and Ubisoft outrank Activision as Sony and Microsoft suppliers
In a handy figure included in its response to U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Microsoft revealed that the house of sports games EA is the biggest third-party supplier when it comes to console games, followed by Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive. Although Microsoft stressed this is the case for PlayStation, the figure reveals the same is the case for Xbox as well.
Where things change is when it comes to Sony Interactive Entertainment as a publisher. Apparently, Sony itself is the fourth largest game publisher, surpassing Activision Blizzard, who ranks fifth. “Sony has 286 games which are exclusive to PlayStation,” Microsoft said, adding that Sony keeps its own first-party games “almost entirely exclusive to PlayStation.” The company then name dropped God of War, Spider-Man, and The Last of Us.
Speaking of The Last of Us, Microsoft and Activision evidently want regulators to take note of the HBO television show. Not only did an Activision executive previously claim that The Last of Us’s success is a good reason for the merger to go ahead, Microsoft went the extra mile to point out the show’s success to the CMA.
