Following its purchases of Double Fine, Ninja Theory, and Obsidian Entertainment, Microsoft stated that it would honor the multi-platform release plans for games from several studios that it had recently acquired (including Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds, whose publishing rights had already been sold to Take-Two Interactive prior to Microsoft's purchase of the studio),[14] but that they would focus on Xbox platform exclusives in the future.
Games on the UWP architecture also included technical and compatibility limitations that critics and consumers considered unfavorable and contrary to norms (such as locked frame rates and incompatibility with third-party tools).
One prominent case was that of Metro: Exodus, which was abruptly announced as being an Epic Games Store exclusive only shortly before its release, even after taking pre-orders on Steam.
[24][25] Justification for these complaints have included allegations that the store client is spyware, sinophobia (due to minority shares in the company being owned by Chinese conglomerate Tencent, allegedly subjecting it to Chinese government influence and possible espionage), lacking features in comparison to the market-leading Steam (such as per-game communities and cloud saves), and subjection of the PC gaming industry to exclusivity deals reminiscent of those seen on consoles.
In response to the criticism, Epic Games stated that it would be less aggressive in seeking exclusivity deals if Valve reduced its revenue cut, and that it would try to avoid repeating the "pushback" associated with the Metro controversy.
[33][34] The Wii's dominance during the seventh generation of consoles was credited primarily to Nintendo's focus on targeting a wider audience, rather than competing with PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on hardware fidelity and the core market.
[35][36] By July 2007, it was reported that the Wii had outsold the PlayStation 3 six-to-one, with analysts citing a lack of "killer" exclusives for the platform as affecting market share.
Several other third-party titles by Japanese publishers, including Dead or Alive 4, The Idolmaster, The Last Remnant, Vampire Rain, and Tales of Vesperia, also chose to initially target the 360 exclusively.
Nintendo relied primarily on exclusives from its first-party franchises—such as Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, and the new IP Splatoon—in order to grow the fledgling console's market share.
[49][50][51] In addition, the company has focused on other distinguishing features of its ecosystem, including an emphasis on backward compatibility and its Xbox Game Pass subscription service.
[52] In the late-2019s and early-2020s, Microsoft made multiple major studio acquisitions to bolster its first-party development,[53][54] including most prominently ZeniMax Media—parent company of Bethesda Softworks and Id Software.
"[61] In August 2022, as part of a Brazilian antitrust filing tied to the purchase, Microsoft accused Sony of allegedly paying publishers to not place their games on subscription services.