Bethesda head was worried Microsoft's "confusing" stance on CoD exclusivity would put Starfield in an awkward situation

Starfield screenshot
(Image credit: Bethesda)

It turns out that other studios that 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Microsoft owns are just as una🍎mu𒊎sed by the Xbox's messaging over console exclusivity as we all are.

As part of the ongoing hearings over Microsoft's deal to purchase Activision Blizzard, several internal documents have been made public for various reasons. Some reveal interesting titbits – Phil Spencer's fear of 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Sony buying Starfield or 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Xbox's "final watchlist" for acquisition, including Sega, Bungie, and seven other studios. 

Others are fairly understandable and yet still amusing, like 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Bethesda Softworks SVP of global marketing & communications Pete Hines asking Spencer what the deal is with being vocal over keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation when 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Starfield is locked down to Xbox.

As shared online by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier on , Hines expressed his "surprise" to Spencer regarding the messaging of an Xbox blog post about ensuring "Sony fans can continu📖e to enjoy the games they love", going on to say it was being read as the opposite of what happened when Microsoft acquired Bethesda.

Also sꦫhared during the trial was Hines' email to other Bethesda buds like Todd Howard, getting across a similar sentiment more candidly. Hines expresses "confusion" as Microsoft's messaging over Call of Duty is the "opposite of what we were just asked (told) to do with our own titles?" Hines also mentions that it would have been good to get a heads-up as ൲Howard was due to attend DICE, and would have likely been confronted with the topic in several interviews.

Again, the difference in tone is fairly par for the course when it comes to corporate settings - it's just amusing to see the curtain on games development pulled back to reveal a group chat vs theಌ side chat moment.

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Starfield will have physical discs, after all, Bethesda confirms – just not PlayStation availability.

Iain Harris
News Editor, Games

I joined GamesRadar+ in May 2022 following stints at PCGamesN and PocketGamer.Biz, with some freelance for Kotaku UK, RockPaperShotgun, and VG24/7 thrown in f𒁃or good measure. When I'm not running the news team on the games side, you'll find me putting News Editor duties to one side to play the hottest JRPG of 20 years ago or pillaging the depths of Final Fantasy 14 for a swanky new cloak – the more colourful, the better.