Early Thursday morning, Microsoft will share a presentation as part of the Tokyo Game Show. The team at Xbox has already made an effort to contain expectations for this Xbox Tokyo Game Show Showcase 2020. With the launch of the Xbox Series X and S nearing, rumors and speculation have already grown rampant, and now, Xbox is adding another caveat to its TGS presentation, confirming that there will be no acquisition-related news at TGS.
The reason for the Xbox team to address this possibility is potentially due to a wild rumor that's currently spreading out of control, the rumor being that Microsoft has acquired Japanese publisher and studio Sega. There is no valid source for this rumor, however. Inquisitive internet denizens have been drawing extreme conclusions from various Xbox-related media in order to come to this conclusion, making it more of a conspiracy theory than anything.
For those curious about the theory, however, there are some interesting coincidences. An official Sega Twitter account posted a photo showing an employee making an "X" shape next to a box. In Japan, this gesture is more commonly tied to saying no or marking something as wrong, though. There's also recently announced Xbox Wireless Controller color named Shock Blue, which some believe to be Sonic's colors. There's assorted other information tied to the rumor, but little that's reliable.
Before the rumor of the Sega acquisition started, there was an interesting image that was shared all the way back in April. It was described as a leak, but its veracity was never confirmed. The image showed both Xbox Game Studios and Sega's logos tied to a presentation in June. "Tune in for exclusive world premieres and more from our newest creators at Xbox Game Studios," read the fine text at the bottom of the image. This event never happened, but it is likely the origin of the Sega acquisition rumors.
Microsoft's acquisition of Zenimax Media is at least partially responsible for the re-emergence of the Sega rumors. Microsoft's CEO, as well as Xbox boss Phil Spencer, have both given interviews over the past few days in which they mention Xbox continuing to pursue other acquisitions. TGS is just perfectly timed to be a focus of those rumors.
The Xbox TGS event will continue as scheduled, airing at 5:00 am PT Thursday morning. The Xbox team's already shared some early information. The event will be available in Japanese only, it'll feature Minecraft and Microsoft Flight Simulator, and it will also "celebrate" Japanese game creators and games. It won't have any next-gen Xbox news and it won't have any news about Microsoft's acquisitions.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S launch on November 10.