PlayStation wants to grow “by making Xbox smaller,” claims Phil Spencer

Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has accused PlayStation of seeking growth by “making Xbox smaller,” as the two companies continue to clash over the proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition.

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Spencer’s remarks were made during an interview with the Second Request podcast (via VGC), where he said that Sony was the “one major opposer to the [Activision Blizzard] deal.”

“Sony is trying to protect its dominance on the console,” said Spencer. “The way they grow is by making Xbox smaller.”

He went on to accuse Sony of having a “very different view of the industry” than Microsoft does, adding that it doesn’t “ship their games day and date on PC, they do not put their games into their subscription when they launch their games.”

Sony in particular has objected to Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. More specifically, it has expressed concerns about Microsoft having the exclusive rights to Call of Duty, which it believes rivals will be unable to compete with. For his part, Spencer has stated that Microsoft has no intentions of making Call of Duty exclusive to its platforms, however Sony remains unconvinced.

“Sony is leading the dialogue around why the deal shouldn’t go through to protect its dominant position on console, so the thing they grab onto is Call of Duty,” said Spencer.

“The largest console maker in the world raising an objection about the one franchise that we’ve said will continue to ship on the platform,” he continued. “It’s a deal that benefits customers through choice and access.”

Microsoft has previously said that it offered Sony a 10-year deal to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation, and recently pledged to bring the franchise to Nintendo systems should the Activision Blizzard deal be approved.

However, the deal is facing increasing scrutiny. Last week (December 8), the Federal Trade Commission issued a press release stating its intent to try and block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, claiming it would allow the company to “harm competition.”

In other gaming news, Riot Games is suing Chinese publisher NetEase over alleged Valorant similarities in its mobile FPS Hyper Front.

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