Is Xbox buying Sega – If Activision buyout flops Sega could be next on the list
The ongoing legal battle between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Microsoft has revealed some interesting tidbits about the studios which Microsoft were interested in acquiring before settling on Activision.
The FTC vs Microsoft case has been going on since the end of last week, with a bunch of juicy bits of info coming out, such as the fate of Starfield on PS5, or that Starfield wouldn't have made 2023 if it was multiplatform. However, the latest batch of details from the Microsoft Activision deal court case shows just how different things could've been if Xbox hadn't decided to buy Activision.
One of the documents shown off in court this week ( via IGN ) included an internal Xbox memo including some of the publishers and studios that Microsoft was interesting in acquiring to 'fill content gaps'. One company that it got particularly close to trying to acquire was Sega.
An email from Phil Spencer sent in November 2020 to Microsoft's CFO and CEO said, "we believe that Sega has built a well-balanced portfolio of games across segments with global geographic appeal, and will help us accelerate Xbox Game Pass both on and off-console," to which Microsoft GM David Hampton simply responded, "game on".
There's no details on why the Sega deal never went forward, but it's worth noting that Microsoft bought Bethesda only two months prior to this email, so perhaps it had to be put on the backburner (at which point Activision may have become the priority).
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Xbox made a list of 100 developers and publishers and narrowed it down to eight candidates before deciding on Activision. Those eight (and Microsoft's reason for interest) are as follows:
- Thunderful – expertise in cross-gen casual mobile games
- Supergiant Games – developer of top indie titles including Hades (2020)
- Niantic – very strong technology infrastructure, focus on xR and innovative mobile experiences
- Playrix – strong franchises and content breadth; world-class in designing, making and running successful games
- Zynga – strong franchises and content breadth; world-class in designing, making and running successful games
- Bungie – owner of AAA franchises with an established ability to ship and scale games
- IO Interactive – owner of AAA franchises with specialized expertise in regional IP game launches
- Scopely – very strong tech infrastructure to support non-owned IP; opportunity to complement XGS' IP
Some other names that never made the final eight include Behaviour Interactive (Dead By Daylight), Housemarque (which Sony acquired in 2021) and Remedy Entertainment. That being said, some discussions between these companies must've happened as remnants of these deals can still be felt.
Sega and Xbox have been especially friendly in the time since, with big reveals for its previously PlayStation-exclusive Persona and Like a Dragon series happening at Xbox events (such as the Like a Dragon Infinite Wealth trailer revealed at at Xbox Games Showcase) as well as arriving on Xbox Game Pass. Meanwhile, IO Interactive's next game – known only as 'Project Dragon' has been confirmed to be an Xbox Game Studios title. Thunderful's latest title Planet of Lana launched directly onto Xbox Game Pass this year.
So even if Microsoft hasn't bought these studios, there's definitely still some interest on its end. And who knows, perhaps something could be on the way for these studios if the Microsoft Activision deal is blocked.
While not as gargantuan as Activision, Sega would be a huge get for Microsoft, although personally, I would rather Microsoft invest that money in new original IP and studios.
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