Microsoft’s ongoing attempts to buy Activision Blizzard for an absurd $69 billion (we still struggle to comprehend that number) have forced the company to divulge all kinds of weird details on how Xbox operates behind the scenes. Case in point: Microsoft has just been forced to share internal emails, in which Xbox boss Phil Spencer is basically weighing up the advantages of buying both SEGA’s game studios and Bungie.
“I’m writing to request Strategy Approval to approach SEGA Sammy regarding a potential acquisition of their SEGA game studios,” reads one of the emails. It’s just that simple, apparently.
Xbox Game Pass is the key reason for such an “approach”, with Spencer looking to “accelerate” the subscription service. This was back in 2020, before Game Pass had seemingly plateaued in terms of user numbers.
Of course, 2020 was also the year in which Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media — Bethesda included — for around $7.5 billion. It’s fair to say that the business was on a bit of a shopping spree back then.
Microsoft didn’t manage to snag SEGA — or Bungie, which Sony snapped up two years later — but it’s clear that the Team in Green has a bit of a thing with the House of Sonic. Over the last few years, Microsoft has secured a number of deals with regards to SEGA’s games, with properties such as Yakuza Like a Dragon and Persona getting a big marketing push on Xbox, primarily through Game Pass.
But yeah, the bottom line here is that we could have been living in a world in which Microsoft owns the gaming side of SEGA. How would you feel about such a deal actually going through? Imagine Sonic, but green, in the comments section below.