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Xbox executive Matt Booty did indeed discuss Microsoft pushing PlayStation out of the gaming business, according to an internal email shared as part of the ongoing legal proceedings between Microsoft/Activision and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The allegation was first made by a group of gamers who sued Microsoft to prevent the Activision merger. Despite the company’s attempts to keep the email sealed, it was made public.
Xbox didn’t want PlayStation to become the “Disney of games”
In December 2019, Booty replied to an email from CFO Tim Stuart, in which they appear to be discussing Game Pass and Xbox’s content strategy going forward. In the opening line of his email, Booty proposes a “different view to the general view” whereby Microsoft can simply “go spend Sony out of business.” Booty states the obvious: Microsoft has enough money to curb stomp competitors.
Booty tells Stuart that it might be worth losing billions of dollars over content acquisitions if it means preventing the likes of Tencent, Google, Amazon, and Sony from becoming “the Disney of games.”
Microsoft argues that Booty’s suggestion never officially became the company’s strategy, and the email predates the Activision Blizzard deal. However, critics have pointed out that Microsoft has since spent an extortionate amount of money on acquisitions, starting with ZeniMax Media’s acquisition not long after Booty’s email.