Speculation regarding Xbox's acquisitions continues after Microsoft's pickup of ZeniMax Media, which includes Bethesda, id Software, and more. The sky truly seems the limit for Xbox, but there's one region that seems impervious to Xbox's acquisition efforts: Japan. That hasn't stopped fan speculation that Xbox is pursuing a Japanese studio acquisition. However, when asked directly about it, Xbox boss Phil Spencer outright rejected the possibility.

Citing a report claiming that Microsoft had approached several Japanese studios regarding the possibility of an acquisition, Spencer said there wasn't any truth to it. He does acknowledge that he's "not in every meeting that every team has," so he can't speak for everyone at Microsoft, but Spencer himself has not had any conversations with Japanese studios. For the time being, Spencer has seemingly put speculation about a Japanese Xbox acquisition on ice.

RELATED: Xbox Will Keep Acquiring Studios To Boost Xbox Game Pass

The closest thing to this speculation that's actually happening is through Microsoft's ongoing acquisition of ZeniMax Media, which owns Tango Gameworks. Tango Gameworks is located in Japan, and Spencer says that he's looking forward to spending time with Tango once the acquisition is completely finalized. Otherwise, he says he does have an affinity for Japanese studios, given that Xbox has a long history of Japanese-developed first-party releases.

xbox game studios

Beyond that, Spencer doesn't expound. There's no explanation for why Xbox isn't pursuing the acquisition of any Japanese studios, nor is there any insight into why there's so much speculation about the possibility. There appears to be interest among Xbox fans for more Japanese games exclusive to the Xbox platform, but if Spencer's comments are anything to go by, there's currently no business effort to pursue that opportunity.

Spencer does talk about the opportunities that the Asian market in general provides. He talks about bringing xCloud to Korea, as well as opportunities in both China and Southeast Asia. He also does loop back around to say he wants to persuade developers in Japan to support Xbox too, but currently in a third-party capacity.

While Xbox may not be pursuing acquisitions in Japan, it is still pursuing acquisitions elsewhere. He points to Bethesda doubling the size of Xbox's first-party studios, and adds, "We're still out there looking for other teams." He said Xbox's priority looking forward is a "continued supply of great games." He has no news to share now, but Xbox fans can assume that more acquisition announcements will likely be made down the line.

MORE: Xbox is Getting More Than Just Games With the Bethesda Acquisition

Sources: GameSpot, Bloomberg