Microsoft forecasted cancelled Starfield and Indiana Jones PS5 versions to sell over 10 million copies, according to court documents. Xbox CFO Tim Stuart testified that Microsoft forecasted PS5 sales as part of an exercise to evaluate the impact of making Bethesda and ZeniMax games Xbox console exclusives.
Starfield and Indiana Jones were originally headed to PS5
Stuart’s testimony was part of the FTC’s legal challenge to the Microsoft-Activision merger, which the FTC recently lost and appealed. The document implies that the 10 million sales forecasts both games’ combined sales on the PS5.
“Microsoft believed it could offset losses incurred from taking ZeniMax games exclusive through upside to Game Pass and increased console sales,” the document reads. “Mr. Stuart testified that Microsoft needed fewer dollars in the short term to make up for the financial impact of exclusivity of ZeniMax games on Microsoft.”
Critics of the Microsoft-Activision deal have said that Microsoft is in a unique position to absorb losses earned by making games exclusive to its ecosystem. The FTC believes that Microsoft has the potential to do the same when it comes to Call of Duty — something other regulators unanimously disagree with.
If the FTC loses its appeal, Microsoft and Activision can close the deal as early as this weekend.
