According to insiders, Sony may cancel the PlayStation Showcase because it does not want to strengthen Microsoft’s acquisition of ABK.
There are hints by Yoshi-P that Final Fantasy 16 will get a trailer in October, hinting at a potential PlayStation Showcase.
Sony may not hold its annual PlayStation Showcase as it believes it can strengthen Microsoft’s case with regulators now scrutinizing the acquisition of Activision Blizzard King. Some regulators have considered and approved it, but some like the UK regulator are taking a closer look. The core conflict of the Microsoft acquisition is Call of Duty, which it claims will be non-exclusive but Sony says Microsoft’s offer is not enough.
Meanwhile, PlayStation fans have been eagerly awaiting a PlayStation Showcase and the two are connected according to a recent confidential source. For the past few years, Sony has hosted the PlayStation Showcase in September. For example, last year, they showcased their exclusives Knights of the Old Republic Remake, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Marvel’s Wolverine and God of War Ragnarok. That obviously hasn’t happened this year, and multiple rumors suggest that Sony will move the PlayStation Showcase to October. Some are still pushing this rumor, but at least one seems to think this won’t. correct.
According to Millie A, who has a fairly established history in the industry, Sony is expected to announce the PS Showcase on October 11, and it will happen on October 20. The 9-day notice period is not necessarily must fit previous models of Sony, but then again. Sony is expected to reveal exclusive titles and first-party IPs, just like what leaked with Horizon Zero Dawn Remake, with Kojima’s Elle Fanning reveal and Silent Hill info as well. takes place there, before the two are clearly broken.
It remains to be seen how all this plays out, but the situation is still evolving.
However, when the CMA investigated Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Sony did not want to provide Microsoft with anything because of its objections. Indeed, Millie A stated that day that “Sony believes a rollout will add weight to MS’s arguments”, so Sony is now “holding its ground”. Obviously too, the investigation is likely not going to end anytime soon and this makes an early PS Showcase unlikely.
This also makes sense, as Sony has been reluctant to reveal so many details regarding God of War Ragnarok, even though the launch date is only a month away, but it’s clear this is all messy. In fact, if Sony wants to reveal a bunch of exclusive features, it’s right. If Sony does its best on the PS Showcase for its fans, it will be a huge showcase of current and upcoming Sony exclusive projects. One could blame Microsoft for acquiring studios if they wanted to, but Sony dominated the entire PS4-Xbox One era with exclusivity. Their whole bet, despite the huge library of games and games in development, is that Call of Duty will fundamentally change that competition.
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