Yakuza PlayStation 1

In an interview anecdote published by the Washington Post, chatty Xbox chief Phil Spencer has said that he trusts the likes of Sony, Nintendo, and Valve not to damage the gaming industry – it’s tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Google that he’s concerned about. The conversation is, of course, shadowed by his company’s unprecedented near-$70 billion buyout of Activision Blizzard, which follows Bethesda the year prior.

“They have a long history in video games,” he said of the sector’s current major competitors. “Nintendo’s not going to do anything that damages gaming in the long run because that’s the business they’re in. Sony is the same and I trust them. Valve’s the same way.” Of course, all three of the companies that Spencer’s name-dropping have significantly shorter pockets than the trillion-dollar juggernaut that is Microsoft.

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There’s nothing in the interview about exclusivity, but Spencer does allude to the possibility of series like Crash Bandicoot returning in the future – although he talks in more general corporate terms, like “adding resources and increasing capability”. There’s also chatter about Activision Blizzard’s well-documented workplace issues, which he’s confident will be resolved.

Earlier today, Sony released a statement on the situation saying that it expects “Microsoft will abide by contractual agreements and continue to ensure Activision games are multiplatform”. The exact nature of said pre-existing contracts and whether the PlayStation maker will get its wishes are still very much up for debate, of course – but at this point we’d recommend you expect nothing once this deal has closed in 2023.

[source washingtonpost.com]