Spiderman isn’t a third party, given that it is developed by Insomniac (a first party studio) and the property itself is also owned by Sony (hence the MCU disputes, Venom, etc)
Microsoft WAS approached by Marvel to have their own superhero property but MS said no. That’s on them.
FF16 is the actual topic of debate though, as it’s a third party (Square) releasing exclusively for PS5.
In both cases, they are not the same as MS buying the entirety of Zenimax and then making both Redfall and Starfield exclusive, the two biggest titles that were on their upcoming slate and both of which had multiplat plans prior to the acquisition.
Sony doesn’t own SE, and while there is no doubt some sweet printed sugar incentive at play, FF historically sells poorly on Xbox thus SE is reluctant to develop versions of the heavy hitters for the console.
The last mainline release, FF15, sold at a 90%/10% difference. At a business standpoint, it makes sense to cut losses where possible. Their market just isn’t on Xbox.
Timed exclusivity deals is a shady practice, and the 360 era was the pioneer of the concept. That’s not a dig, but a fact. It’s just gone the other way now.
