Image: Reuters The company has subpoenaed Sony — essentially a legal order to attend court — meaning the platform holder will need to prepare to provide its own data during the hearing.

Microsoft has until 7th April to build its defence and gather information to support the deal.

Part of that defence seemingly revolves around Sony and its production capabilities, although the extent of what the company has to disclose is still in negotiations.

The hearing at the FTC is scheduled to take place on 2nd August, where Microsoft will, in a nutshell, need to convince the government body that the deal will not be harmful to the industry and its competitors.

Sony has been publicly against the acquisition for fairly obvious reasons, so it'll be reluctant to issue too many details for fear of supporting Microsoft's case.

Having grown up alongside PlayStation, Stephen has developed an eclectic taste in video games and a wide knowledge of the medium, from small indie gems to the biggest AAA blockbusters.