It has emerged that North American firm Netflix, which operates Microsoft’s movie rental and streaming service in the territory, has withdrawn all of its Sony Pictures titles from the service.

Those using Netflix via their PC or TV, however, are still able to access the content – a fact that has caused many to speculate that the move is a Sony-led anti-Xbox 360 initiative.

Speaking to MTV Multiplayer, Netflix’s VP or corporate communications Steve Swasey refused to confirm if the decision to cut the films came directly from Sony Pictures, or to comment on why only the Xbox 360 has been targeted.

“In the case of Xbox 360, a few hundred titles are temporarily unavailable to be streamed via the Xbox game console,” he added. “Those titles are still available to be watched on subscribers’ computers and on TVs via other partner devices, and we hope they’ll be licensed for Xbox 360 shortly.

“As watching instantly becomes a more prominent part of the Netflix service, our goal is to have all of our streaming content licensed for all of our partner devices. We’re doing well in this area, but it will take some time before we fully achieve that goal. Today, titles regularly come in and out of license and there is a natural ebb and flow to what we have on license at any given point in time.”