Phil Spencer and company have been on a bit of a studio buying spree these past couple of years. Don’t expect it to let up either, even with the recent Bethesda acquisition, which will soon double the number of studios they have.
Spencer recently sat down for a quick interview during Twitch’s Glitchcon and answered a question about the Bethesda acquisition and if Xbox is looking to buy more developers in the future. Here’s what Spencer had to say:
“In terms of continuing to invest in new studios and new games and new content, absolutely we have to do that. It’s important that we continue to build out the library of games that are available on Xbox. We’ll double the size of our studios organization when we add Bethesda, and we’re going to continue to invest in great games so that people can find their next favorite game on our platform.”
I think Microsoft will always be on the hunt for more studios. Games are always the most important thing for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. But with Xbox Game Pass, you also need more of them to keep the service compelling.
The original Xbox was able to make a big splash with just Halo. Xbox Game Pass’ big splash comes from the sheer amount of quality and quantity of games. The value is pretty crazy, especially if you also play games on PC. For one monthly fee, you get everything from Halo and Forza to Microsoft Flight Simulator and EA’s catalog of games. With tons of other AAA and indie games in between. Plus, every new Xbox game launches day one on Game Pass. And with all the new studio acquisitions, there will soon be a steady stream of first-party games hitting the service.
It’ll be interesting to see what future acquisitions look like. I imagine another deal the size of the Bethesda acquisition ($7.5 billion) likely isn’t happening any time soon.
