The legal clash of titans in the gaming industry between Microsoft and regulatory bodies from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority and the US Federal Trade Commission has flared up some dope deets for Sony’s PS6 release date. Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition is standing the test of time by being challenged to be blocked for ‘apparent’ misuse of monopoly over popular game franchises such as Call of Duty.
The double summer showdown made some court documents public this week. The battle for Microsoft’s $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard revealed that the gaming giant expects the ‘starting period’ of the next generation of game consoles such as the successor of Xbox and the PS6’s launch date to drop in 2028.
According to Sony’s plans from the court documents in the UK’s CMA review of the acquisition, Sony has fueled PS6’s release date rumors by earmarking after 2027. The 2028 timeline matches up with these statements.
Favorite PS5 games of the year. (Image Courtesy – PlayStation)
PS6 Release Date: Court Trial For Microsoft Activision Blizzard Acquisition
The reason why Sony is linked up in the court proceedings of Microsoft’s Activision merger is that the company expressed its concerns that Microsoft could make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox, somewhat a deal breaker for console gamers. It could affect Sony’s sales and it pushed the legal aspects of it to the regulatory bodies.
In the released court documents, Microsoft emphasized that if the deal went through, it will not stop releasing Call of Duty games on PlayStation for a minimum of the next ten years. While the decade-long promise sounds like a deal fit to take, this revealed that PS6’s release date had a long way to go.
“In any case, this term would go beyond the expected starting period of the next generation of consoles in 2028. Hence, Call of Duty will be published on succeeding PlayStation consoles, if one is released during the term of the agreement.”
The agreement even entailed that PlayStation’s Call of Duty will be at parity with what Xbox gamers experience. With Microsoft’s legal saga continuing till at least the evidentiary hearing scheduled with the FTC for August 2, 2023, the possibilities of what more could be revealed about the next generation consoles like PS6’s specifications with reference to PS6’s release date, lay open.
This week’s courtroom drama ensued when FTC requested a preliminary injunction on the Microsoft Activision Blizzard acquisition case. This means that the merger is on hold until the FTC finishes reviewing the case’s compliance with US antitrust laws.
PS6 Release Date Updates
Previously, PlayStation has unfailingly launched new consoles in a consistent timeline of 6-8 years. The 2028 timeline for PS6’s release date surely hitches up the trajectory. The Original PlayStation, PS2, and PS3 were launched with a gap of six years while PS4 and PS5 were released within seven years of each other.
For now, there isn’t much clarity on whether there might be a mid-cycle upgrade like the PS4 Pro but demands have been rising for something akin to a PS5 Pro or PS5 Slim. The console game lovers will just have to wait for the mysterious details of PS6’s release date to be confirmed.