Rumor has it that Microsoft is talking to "major Japanese publishers" and "smaller studios" about potential purchases. The suggestion came from a clip found on a recent Giant Bombcast episode that featured a talk from Jeff Grubb and company on Microsoft's plans for the region.
The hosts seem confident that Xbox is still discussing potential acquisitions with major Japanese companies. The reason given by Giant Bombcast is that Game Pass needs a steady stream of varied content always to feel fresh.
Microsoft targeting major Japanese Publishers as well as small studios for acquisition.
— Post Up (@PostUp_SOG) September 27, 2022
Phil Spencer CEO of gaming along with Satya Nadella CEO of MS have made it clear that they aren’t don’t acquiring Studios, Publishers and content to feed the Gamepass machine. pic.twitter.com/0ftqDqCWQ6
According to several media, the most apparent Japanese publishers that would fit this description are Capcom, Bandai Namco, Koei Tecmo, Sega, and Square Enix. All of these, except Bandai Namco, have a stock value ranging from $3-5,5 billion (Bandai Namco is worth $14.3 billion), which is roughly half of what Microsoft paid for ZeniMax/Bethesda and barely even a fraction of Activision Blizzard, for which Microsoft paid $68.7 billion.
In a way, Xbox's recent purchase of Bethesda means that one Japanese team, Tango Gameworks, is already under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. But, for now, any talk of future acquisitions is just that - and readers should take these rumors as such.
Stay tuned for upcoming developments on this information!
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