Last year, when Microsoft announced the $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media (parent company of Bethesda Game Studios), many were surprised. However, for franchises like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Dishonored, and more, the acquisition made perfect sense for Xbox. Xbox spent much of the last console generation's early months on the back foot, with Sony and PlayStation seeing massive success and over 100 million consoles sold. Boosting the exclusive catalogue with Bethesda/ZeniMax games is exactly how Xbox and Microsoft intends to stake its claim to success, similar to PlayStation's exclusive game studios.
More recently, rumors surrounding Microsoft seem to indicate that the company intends to make similar acquisitions to bolster the Xbox library in the future. Whether that's in 2021 or beyond is unknown at this point, and while this is just an unconfirmed rumor, it's hard not to expect Microsoft to make similar moves. The ZeniMax acquisition is admittedly a significant investment in Xbox's success, but a series of franchises under one publisher isn't enough to tip the scales just yet. Additional acquisitions are only going to make Xbox's offering better, whether that's through the games themselves, or to bolster Xbox Game Pass to an even greater degree.
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THQ has been around a long time, but the reformation of THQ Nordic under Embracer Group has brought with it several high profile acquisitions. Now, several of the most classic and biggest gaming franchises now fall under the THQ Nordic banner. Saints Row, Metro, Darksiders, Destroy all Humans!, Desperados, Timesplitters, MX vs. ATV, just to name quite a few. Even as recent as last Fall, while most were paying attention to the Microsoft-ZeniMax acquisition, Embracer Group had also acquired 12 game development studios, including the makers of Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated.
What makes the many developers under Embracer Group/THQ Nordic a solid potential acquisition is how wide of a gaming net the company's subsidiaries cast. In the same way that Bethesda provides several iconic, unique gaming franchises between id Software, Arkane Studios, and Bethesda Softworks, Embracer Group and THQ Nordic have a similar range. However, considering how many acquisitions and how large Embracer Group itself is becoming, it'd take a lot more than $7.5 billion for a total Microsoft acquisition to even be considered likely. A piecemeal purchase of the developers under THQ Nordic is the only plausible option, which still isn't that likely.
Another big, potentially Bethesda-sized buyout would be the gaming arm of Warner Bros. Providing the many Batman: Arkham games, LEGO games, the upcoming Hogwarts Legacy, among other licensed game franchises, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment would be a huge acquisition. Again, this is another publisher that contains a lot of huge potential in its reach, ranging from Harry Potter to Mortal Kombat.
Snatching up developers like Monolith Software, Rocksteady Studios, WB Games Montreal, or Avalanche Software would bring with them tons of potential. Not only would the recently announced DC games like Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League or Gotham Knights potentially be exclusive to Xbox, but an expansive backlog for Xbox Game Pass would tag along as well. This acquisition isn't as comparatively far-fetched, but it's still a pretty sizeable pool of games and developers. Assuming this was the case, that'd be a ton of huge licensed franchises from DC and others coming to Xbox, potentially exclusively.
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As a preface, this particular choice for Microsoft is highly unlikely, but it would be an interesting turn of events based on context. Bungie has reveled in its independent success since the split not only from Microsoft, but Activision-Blizzard as well. The enduring success of Destiny 2 has kept Bungie hard at work on its own, while the company continues working on a mysterious new IP called Matter as well. However, recently Destiny 2 in its entirety was added to Xbox Game Pass, which in and of itself has made the barrier of entry to Bungie's MMO-shooter that much lower.
Bungie is a developer and publisher that's relished in its independence since officially splitting from Activision in 2019, but even prior to that, Bungie used to be owned by Microsoft. Back during Bungie's Halo days, Microsoft acquired Bungie to develop Halo: Combat Evolved exclusively for the first Xbox. Obviously since then, Bungie has split off from any parent companies, but Destiny could be the key to Microsoft and Bungie partnering up once more. Bungie has continuously denied this rumor, but it's hard not to look at Destiny 2 on Xbox Game Pass and wonder if this could be a more permanent fixture moving forward.
Bringing Remedy Entertainment under the Xbox banner would make a lot of sense. The recent addition of Control on Xbox Game Pass could potentially open that door, depending on what the playership is like under Game Pass. Remedy Entertainment has had a long-standing relationship with Microsoft in the last few years, producing games like Alan Wake and Quantum Break, both ambitious titles that saw sizable success on Xbox consoles. However, due to high overhead costs during development and each game's relatively niche setting and premise, those games weren't exactly blockbuster games.
That being said, Remedy Entertainment is also working on the upcoming CrossfireX singleplayer world, so the two companies haven't severed ties by any means. Since Control saw considerable success and support, and is also crossing over with Alan Wake, Remedy Entertainment has a bright future ahead for games. Microsoft may be eyeing that potential as well, and would be an incredibly solid addition to Xbox.
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It's arguable whether or not this would be even bigger than the Bethesda/ZeniMax acquisition, and the plausibility of this is even more questionable. However, hints here and there could indicate a greater company relationship forming between Microsoft and Sega. Games like the formerly PlayStation-exclusive Yakuza collection coming to Xbox Game Pass, as well as Yakuza: Like a Dragon being a timed-exclusive to Xbox Series X, could be indicative of a larger deal. Xbox Boss Phil Spencer has always echoed the notion that Xbox wishes to have a bigger presence in Japan, and Sega just might be the ticket to that endeavor.
Acquiring Sega would be a hugely ambitious deal, even in the wake of the ZeniMax acquisition. Sega holds the keys to many iconic video game franchises, not just in Japan, but worldwide. A Microsoft-Sega acquisition could potentially make franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog, Persona and Megami Tensei, Bayonetta, Streets of Rage, and the aforementioned Yakuza series. That's without even counting the many long-lost arcade franchises of Sega from the 80s and 90s as well. Rumors of Microsoft acquiring Sega floated around many times last year, but they may not have just been rumors after all.
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