Microsoft Expects Next-Gen Xbox and PS6 to Launch in 2028, Claims It Has Been Losing Console Wars: Report

gadgets.ndtv.com:

Microsoft believes the next generation of gaming consoles should be out in 2028, court documents in the ingoing FTC trial over the Xbox parent's attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard revealed. The documents, as reviewed by IGN, detailed that the next Xbox and PlayStation 6 will potentially be out eight years after the current ones launched in 2020. The timeline coincides with Sony's statement from 2022, which alluded that the next console generation won't be here until 2027. The dates are important, considering Microsoft is trying to convince the court that it is willing to commit to making Activision's biggest franchise Call of Duty available in parity on PlayStation consoles for a 10-year duration.

“This term would, in any case, go beyond the expected starting period of the next generation of consoles (in 2028),” Microsoft said in the documents (via IGN). “Thus, Call of Duty will be published on successor PlayStation consoles should one be released during the term of the agreement. The agreement also would ensure that Call of Duty console games are offered on PlayStation at parity with Xbox.” This contradicts Sony's claim from November, last year, where it claimed that Microsoft only plans to offer Activision games on PlayStation until 2027. As it happens, team green had sent a draft of the 10-year agreement to Sony, but the latter has refused to respond to that offer. That duration would also exceed the 2028 release window, allowing Call of duty to flourish on Sony's next-gen consoles. The US FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has requested to temporarily block Microsoft and Activision Blizzard from closing their $69 billion (about Rs. 5,65,921 crore) deal until the agency's in-house court decides whether the deal hurts