Microsoft predicted 10 million copies of Starfield sold on PlayStation 5, but still decided to make the game exclusive

The situation around Microsoft, ActivisionBlizzard, and Sony is still ongoing. Microsoft recently had a legal battle with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the acquisition of ActivisionBlizzard, but at the same time, new details about Starfield and the Indiana Jones game, which are being developed by Bethesda, were revealed.

Here's What We Know

After the documents were made public, it became known that Microsoft predicted 10 million sales for both Starfield and Indiana Jones on PlayStation 5. However, Microsoft believes that the "lost" 20 million copies will be compensated for by Game Pass subscriptions and Xbox Series consoles sold.

In 2021, Microsoft acquired ZeniMax, which is owned by Bethesda, and now almost all of the studio's games are released exclusively on Microsoft platforms.

Had missed this from Xbox CFO Tim Stuart's testimony, but FTC says Microsoft had forecast 10 million sales on PlayStation for "both Starfield and Indiana Jones" before making them exclusive, deciding it could recoup through Game Pass and additional Xbox sales pic.twitter.com/5KdpDzKDZD

- Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) 13 July 2023

Flashback

In January, Microsoft announced the acquisition of ActivisionBlizzard, the creators of the Call of Duty, Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and other franchises. The deal is worth $68.7 billion, which is significantly more than the $7.5 billion that Microsoft spent on the acquisition of Bethesda back in 2020. The deal is the largest in the history of gaming. The deal is expected to close in 2023. However, some companies in the gaming industry believe that the deal could harm the market, so it is unknown whether the deal will be approved at all.

Source: @stephentotilo