Judge Corley just released a less heavily redacted version of her denial of the FTC's PI motion: documentcloud.org/documents/… Additional passages are now publicly accessible, particularly about Sony! Here's a long passage about Sony's practices that was previously redacted: As a game publisher, Sony’s PlayStation Studios, is responsible for blockbuster hits like God of War, The Last of Us, and Spider-Man, the vast majority of which can be played only on PlayStation. (See PX7053 (Ryan Dep. Tr. Vol. I) at 20:16–20:23; RX5055 at 015–016.) And as a purchaser of third-party games, (PX7054 (Ryan Dep. Tr. Vol. II) at 107:10–18.; Dkt. No. 283, 6/23/23 Tr. (Spencer) at 357:12–16.) Sony views exclusive content as crucial to PlayStation’s continued success and to “differentiate [their] platform.” (PX7053 (Ryan Dep. Tr. Vol. I) at 212:19–23; RX0079.) As a result, Sony offers far more exclusive first- and third- party titles than Xbox. (PX7053 (Ryan Dep. Tr.) at 169:24–170:2; Dkt. No. 283, 6/23/23 Tr. (Spencer) at 362:17–23.) Sony also enjoys “an enormous competitive advantage” because it can draw on the intellectual property of “Sony Music, Sony TV, and Sony’s film library” for its game development. (Dkt. No. 285, 6/28/23 Tr. (Kotick) at 723:13-16.) The number of exclusive games available on PlayStation dwarfs the number available on Xbox, with eight exclusive games on PlayStation for every one on Xbox. (RX2098-001 (“Overall, for every 1 exclusive Microsoft game, PlayStation has 8 of them.”); see Dkt. No. 284, 6/27/23 Tr. (Bailey) at 684:3–25; RX5055 at 018–019, Exs. 11A, 11B; Dkt. No. 285, 6/28/23 Tr. (Nadella) at 849:1–8 (“The dominant player [i.e., Sony] there has defined market competition using exclusives and so that’s the world we live in.”).) Sony has often paid third-party studios to “skip” Xbox—either entirely or to delay a title’s release on Xbox. (Dkt. No. 283, 6/23/23 Tr. (Spencer) at 313:4–8.) For example, on June 22, 2023, while this trial was happening, Square Enix released Final Fantasy XVI, the latest release in the iconic Final Fantasy franchise, exclusive to PlayStation 5. Previous versions of Final Fantasy shipped on Xbox, but the reason Final Fantasy XVI is a PlayStation exclusive is because Sony “pa[id] to exclude Xbox.” (Id. at 312:20–313:8, 441:18–443:1.) ZeniMax, too, was paid by Sony not to ship Deathloop or Ghostwire for Xbox, and one of the reasons Microsoft bought ZeniMax was concern Sony would also arrange for Starfield to go exclusive and skip Xbox. (Id. at 314:16– 24.)

WE HAVE THE DECISION! FTC LOST! Microsoft-ABK can close! ". After considering the parties’ voluminous pre-and-post hearing writing submissions, and having held a five-day evidentiary hearing, the Court DENIES the motion for preliminary injunction. The FTC has not shown" 🧵1/X