Microsoft Said It Would Have Kept Sega Games Multiplatform After Proposed Buyout
Microsoft would have kept Sega games multiplatform if it had bought the company, court documents have revealed.
As part of a strategy document released during the ongoing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) vs Microsoft trial to determine the fate of Xbox’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Microsoft outlined its operating plan for Sega, had its plan to buy the company behind Sonic came to be.
The document, reviewed by IGN, reveals Microsoft’s plan for Sega to report into Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty with the following operating principles:
The important point here is that Microsoft, in November 2020 when this strategy was outlined, did not plan to make Sega games such as Sonic Xbox exclusive. Rather, it planned to continue to make Sega games multiplatform, and bring exclusives to Xbox.
One of the key questions the FTC has put to Microsoft as part of its bid to block the Activision Blizzard deal is whether it would make Call of Duty exclusive to Xbox. It has pointed to Bethesda's upcoming space role-playing game Starfield, which is not coming out on PlayStation, as an example of Microsoft’s behaviour after it bought parent company ZeniMax. For its part, Microsoft has committed to keeping Call of Duty multiplatform for at least a decade if it buys Activision Blizzard. This note on its plan for Sega, should the deal have gone through, backs up Microsoft’s case.
According to an email similarly entered into evidence, Xbox head Phil Spencer specifically went to Microsoft CFO Amy Hood and CEO Satya Nadella to request approval to approach Sega and acquire its gaming studios (notably not including the rest of its business units). "We believe that Sega has built a well-balanced portfolio of games across segments with
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