Xbox Could Acquire More Studios, But There's a Catch | Game Rant
Microsoft's aggressive acquisitions of major studios including Obsidian Entertainment, Playground Games, and Double Fine have instilled significant excitement in Xbox's future. A wave of awesome first-party games are expected with the launch of the Xbox Series X and hype is at its highest since the Xbox One launch in 2013. But that doesn't mean that Microsoft is content to wait and see how things work out. The Xbox team remains interested in further acquisitions in the future.
But acquiring new studios isn't so simple a process, as Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently spoke about. Integration is the most important aspect of acquisition because poor integration can create disastrous problems. Spencer says that while Xbox is still looking for smart acquisitions, it's only willing to do so at a pace that is, "maintainable for us as a leadership team." As in, the team has to be in the correct state to ensure fluid integration into Xbox Game Studios.
Spencer's sentiment may explain why it feels like Xbox has pressed pause after its initial flurry of acquisitions. Spencer even expresses a similar thought, saying that, "we want to make sure that those studios are on-boarded in the right way." He explains how Xbox's priority was that the new studios were treated as "full parts of the organization" and "that they felt supported."
Things are obviously working out quite well for Xbox and its current strategies. Spencer describes how Xbox's "Game Pass portfolio and subscriber base continues to grow. We're launching a new console," and, "Last year was our biggest year ever on PC in terms of revenue as Xbox Games Studios." And because of Xbox's successes over the past years and looking into the future, that's why Xbox is "always in the market for new opportunities with studios."
Spencer also says that this isn't just the attitude of the Xbox team alone. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood also have "strong support" for what the Xbox team is doing, with no signal that Xbox should start slowing down.
There's perhaps no better example of this than recent reporting that Microsoft is one of the parties interested in acquiring Warner Bros.' gaming division. Warner Bros. is considering selling its massive gaming division, which includes Mortal Kombat developer NetherRealm, Batman Arkham developer Rocksteady, and 14 other studios across the world. It'd be an expensive and challenging acquisition, but one that would result in incredible value for the Xbox brand, as well.
Needless to say, late 2020 going into 2021 is going to be very exciting for Xbox fans.
Source: GamesIndustry.Biz
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