Microsoft considering buying more studios to stay competitive with Tencent and Sony

pcgamer.com:

In a recent interview with <a href=«https://twitter.com/asiasquawkbox/status/1570606911187451904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1570606911187451904%7Ctwgr%5E274f2d806beb5f1a0e4d1fb1f7dfdef7e5a9e23f%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fxbox-isnt-done-acquiring-more-companies-phil-spencer-suggests%2F1100-6507589%2F» target="_blank" data-url=«https://twitter.com/asiasquawkbox/status/1570606911187451904?ref_src=» https: rel=«noopener»>Squawk Asia

(opens in new tab), a markets-focused vertical of CNBC, Xbox head Phil Spencer would not rule out future game studio acquisitions, even as the publisher continues to finalize its mammoth $75 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard.

In response to a question on whether the company will «remain acquisitive» or take a pause before future purchases, Spencer had this to say:

«This is such a competitive market, I don't think we get to press pause on anything. Tencent is the largest gaming company on the planet today, and they continue to heavily invest in gaming content and game creators.»

Spencer continued, «Sony is a larger business than we are in gaming today, and they continue to invest. It's a highly, highly competitive market.» The executive concluded, «We strive to be a major player. We want to deliver great content for our players, and we're going to remain active.»

This certainly struck me as a likely scenario, even before Spencer directly confirmed it here. We seem to have entered a new paradigm of consolidation in the games industry, with corporations like Sony, the Embracer Group, Tencent, and Microsoft making one titanic acquisition after another in the past few years. 

In further conversation with Squawk, Spencer insisted