Sony: Beyond Doubt That Game Pass Is Far Ahead of PlayStation Plus

gameranx.com:

Sony has stated as a matter of record that rival Xbox’s Game Pass has definitely gotten far ahead of their own PlayStation Plus service.

On a CMA document titled Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Observations on the CMA’s Provisional Findings, dated March 1, 2023, Sony makes this statement on page 6 (edited for clarity):

“Microsoft tends to skew the evidence when it presents shares of supply. The provisional findings find that “the difference between the shares of Microsoft and Sony, both in the UK and globally, is significantly smaller than suggested by the Parties”. And when it comes to multi-game subscription services, it is beyond doubt that Game Pass is far ahead of PlayStation Plus.”

Sony confirms this assessment in a section of the document where they repeat their argument that Microsoft withholding Call of Duty would harm competition. Later in the document, they detail arguments about the deal Microsoft offered them that I discussed here.

Interestingly enough, Sony now has a more complete description of an item they didn’t like from Microsoft’s contract, that neither they nor Microsoft had redacted:

“-making Call of Duty available on multi-game subscription services (“MGS”) only on Game Pass or providing Call of Duty on PlayStation Plus at a commercially unviable price, thereby making it de facto exclusive.”

It’s common knowledge at this point that Game Pass, alongside the Xbox Series S, has become a huge success for Microsoft. Factually, we can point to the $ 2.9 billion in revenue made from Game Pass, that Microsoft disclosed to Brazilian regulators in relation to this same Microsoft – Activision deal.

But on an informal level, it’s well known that Game Pass is a great deal if you’re a gamer in 2023. It’s a very