Rumor: Microsoft Has Talked With 'Major Japanese Publishers' About Acquisitions
Former FanByte and Game Informer writer Imran Khan has indicated that Microsoft has been in talks with “major Japanese publishers” about acquisitions in order to grow the Xbox Game Pass Library. As Microsoft continues to grow its Xbox Game Pass service, scooping up a well-known Japanese publisher could dramatically increase the number and variety of titles available on the service.
Microsoft has spent the last several years acquiring multiple game developers and publishers under its Xbox Game Studios brand, and this latest rumor indicates that this trend seems likely to continue. In addition to acquiring development studios such as Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Productions, the studio behind 2021’s critically acclaimed Psychonauts 2, Microsoft has also purchasedDoom and Skyrim publisher Bethesda Game Studios. In a move that has drawn both praise and scorn from some gamers, in early 2022 Microsoft also announced its desire to acquire Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard.
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Speaking on theGiant Bombcast, Khan stated that Microsoft is interested in acquiring at least one major Japanese publisher and have been engaged in talks to that end. Khan reasons that, much like Netflix began to produce more original content in recent years to avoid paying licensing fees for carrying existing programs, Microsoft is seeking to move more development in-house rather than paying licensing fees to add games from other developers and publishers to Xbox Game Pass. Referencing rumors from earlier this year about a potential acquisition of video game publisher EA by Amazon, host Jeff Grubb noted that Microsoft may also be in a hurry to acquire new developers and publishers due to
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