Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox planned to acquire Bungie and SEGA at one point. This revelation comes from a series of files revealed to The Verge.
These documents were unearthed during the ongoing dispute between the FTC and Microsoft. Both parties are currently in a legal battle over the latter attempting to acquire Activision and Blizzard. The email exchange seemingly confirms that Xbox wanted to acquire other companies beyond Activision and Bethesda.
Xbox Wanted to Purchase Bungie and SEGA
On June 26, The Verge revealed two documents from Xbox that revealed their plans to acquire other gaming companies. The first is an email exchange from 2020 between the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, and Microsoft CEO and CFO Satya Nadella and Amy Hood, respectively. In it, Spencer advocates for the purchase of Sega, citing their “well-balanced portfolio of games” as a reason for the acquisition. He also mentions that the investment will help “accelerate Xbox Game Pass both on and off-console.”
The second document is from 2021 and lists other companies Xbox wanted to acquire. These include Hades-developer, Supergiant, Hitman-developer IO Interactive, and Bungie, the company behind Halo and Destiny. It’s unknown what happened with the merger plans for Microsoft and SEGA. However, PlayStation acquired Bungie, and Zynga, another company on the document, was purchased by Take-Two Interactive.
The FTC v Microsoft
The legal dispute between Microsoft and the FTC is still ongoing. Xbox has recently acquired a series of companies, including Bethesda and Obsidian. It remains to be seen if their attempts to purchase Activision will go through.
PlayStation has also played a role in the legal hearings. It was recently revealed that Microsoft purchased Bethesda because their flagship title, Starfield, was initially set to be a PlayStation exclusive.
As for SEGA and Bungie, the former is working on several new games, such as Persona 3 Reload, Sonic Superstars, and Like a Dragon 8. Bungie, on the other hand, is currently working on a brand-new Marathon game. Both companies will still release the previous games and more on most platforms. More information about the upcoming titles and the FTC v Microsoft hearings will be revealed in the next few months.
