Microsoft started its acquisition of Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion earlier this year and although the deal has yet to go through, Xbox is showing no signs of stopping. During a recent interview with Bloomberg, CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer suggested that Xbox is considering even more studio acquisitions.
The gaming community has been anticipating the Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard to go through since it was announced in January and according to Phil Spencer, the progress being made is encouraging for the new parent company. The $68.7 billion deal drastically outweighs previous Microsoft acquisitions such as Obsidian Entertainment, Mojang, Playground Games, and Ninja Theory, which have all started to develop games under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. While it's unlikely that Microsoft will make another massive purchase like the Activision Blizzard one anytime soon, Spencer hints at even more to come.
Phil Spencer confirmed that Microsoft remains exceptionally focused on the Activision Blizzard deal going through, and he stated that he's answering difficult questions about the acquisition like how it will affect the gaming market and what the company's intent is in buying the prominent publisher. Although Microsoft is dedicated to this process, Spencer also stated that the company is interested in investing in new games, partnerships, and possibly further deals like the Activision Blizzard one.
Referencing Xbox's major expansion into the Japan market with the Xbox Series X/S, Phil Spencer said to Bloomberg, "even though we've worked on our geographic expansion, I'd still say we have too many of our creators in places that are our traditional markets.” Xbox recently confirmed that multiple Persona titles will be coming to the platform and Xbox Game Pass in an effort to expand beyond these traditional markets, while the former PlayStation exclusive from Hideo Kojima, Death Stranding, just dropped on PC Game Pass. Although Spencer has teased more acquisitions in the future, he also suggests that there will be fewer exclusives and more interoperability between consoles moving forward.
Though it hasn't gone through yet, many Microsoft fans have been speculating on when Activision Blizzard titles will join Xbox Game Pass and what game will be the first released under the Xbox umbrella after the acquisition since it was made public at the beginning of the year.
Source: Bloomberg