Sega Boasts 'Very Close' Relationship With Microsoft but Makes Clear It Is Not for Sale

ign.com:

Sega has said it has a very close relationship with Microsoft but made clear the company is not for sale after court documents revealed Xbox boss Phil Spencer was interested in acquiring it.

When asked by Bloomberg if Sega was open to being purchased by a bigger publisher, co-chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi simply said: "No, not now."

The FTC's ongoing legal battle to stop Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard revealed on June 26 that Spencer went to Microsoft CFO Amy Hood and CEO Satya Nadella to request approval to approach Sega and acquire its gaming studios.

This fell through, of course, and while Sega has no plans to be acquired by Microsoft, it insists the two still have a strong relationship.

"We are very close with Microsoft and have a great relationship with its management team," Utsumi said. "Microsoft particularly has a high regard for us. Xbox’s Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are really seriousabout values that video game fans emphasize."

The acquisition race is fully on within the video game industry as both Microsoft and Sony are slowly but surely scooping up more studios to add to their first party offerings. Sony purchased Bungie in February 2022 for $3.6 billion while Microsoft made headlines by purchasing Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax for $7.5 billion.

It's the $68.7 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard that's caused the most stir, however, with the FTC currently battling Microsoft in court to determine whether it will allow the deal to go through.

You can check out our daily roundups right here on IGN for updates on everything happening in FTC v. Microsoft, day by day, as well as catch up on our detailed analysis of day one and day two of the trial before it reconvenes tomorrow.

Ryan