Minecraft doesn’t have a native PS5 version because Sony didn’t provide Microsoft with dev kits, according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Spencer made this revelation during Microsoft’s court battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the Activision Blizzard deal.
Sony “reluctant” to send PS5 dev kits for Minecraft, says Phil Spencer
During his deposition last week, Spencer said (via IGN) that Sony could have sent PS5 dev kits to Microsoft “just as easy as they sent them to any other publisher.” He added that Sony put Microsoft at a disadvantage by providing other studios with dev kits while simultaneously holding them back from Xbox Studios working on multiplatform games.
The FTC argues that Microsoft has had nearly three years to cough up a Minecraft PS5 version to which Spencer said that the company had to look into ways to “maximize the success of Minecraft.” The game is already playable on the PS5 via backwards compatibility, and Microsoft went on to release Minecraft Legends on the PS5.
Interestingly, Sony recently admitted that it will not be willing to send PS6 dev kits to Activision if it’s acquired by Microsoft, leaving a big question mark over Call of Duty’s next-gen development.
