After the surprise purchase of ZeniMax Media, it became clear that Microsoft was willing to invest a lot of money in studies in order to boost its internal development capacity. Recent rumors indicate that the company is still not satisfied with its number of studies, but would rather be interested in more acquisitions. Nothing official has been revealed so far, but new information suggests that the next purchase would be the size of that of Bethesda or ZeniMax Media.
Information has just come to light that reveals that Microsoft, indeed, would be in talks to finalize a new acquisition. This is known from an informant on the XboxEra gaming forum, in which the user Knottian mentions that he has heard many rumors involving a large number of acquisitions and that in the coming months we should know more about them. The most interesting thing is that the informant hints that it is a purchase of a very large company, almost the same size as Bethesda.
MORE INFORMANTS REINFORCE RUMORS OF POSSIBLE PURCHASES
But this does not end there, as another informant, Xbox Ragnar, agreed with these details, having heard the same thing in recent months and even anticipated that the announcement should be made almost at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2022.
“I don’t know who this guy is, but I’ve heard the same thing for months, that Microsoft wants to acquire another distributor, the negotiations with Bethesda lasted 3 years, as I have been told. I think the announcement will be made in late 2021 or early 2022, “commented XboxRagnar.
This is striking because it coincides with rumors that there has been a lot of movement in the market lately and that many negotiations could be in progress by companies such as Sony, Amazon, Google and, of course, Microsoft.
I don't know who this guy is, but I've been hearing the same thing for months, that Microsoft wants to acquire another publisher, negotiations with bethesda lasted 3 years, as I've been pointing out, I believe the announcement will be at the end of 2021 or the beginning of 2022
— 👑 King Ragnar (@XboxRagnar) January 28, 2021
WHAT COMPANIES THE SIZE OF BETHESDA COULD MICROSOFT BUY?
As you can see, the details are not abundant about this possible acquisition, so the only thing that can be done about it is to speculate. Interestingly, a report reported that Microsoft was interested in Japanese studies, which would give it a boost in sales in the land of the Rising Sun.
In this sense, if we consider the price range in which ZeniMax was bought ($ 7.5 MMDD), we can think of Capcom, whose company value is $ 7.36 MMD, or even Konami, which has a value of $ 8.5 MMDD, or Square Enix ($ 7 MMDD). We would leave out Koei Tecmo because, although its games do not appeal as much in the West, it is a company whose valuation is $ 819.44 MMDD.
However, taking into account the number of properties and the pace of game launch, perhaps the most suitable candidate to be Microsoft’s new company is SEGA. Its parent company, SEGA Sammy (including studios like ATLUS and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio), is worth roughly $ 3.85 MMDD. To put it in context, we inform you that Activision Blizzard, a much larger company, is worth $ 64.53 MMDD and Take-Two Interactive reaches $ 19.18 MMDD.
In addition, we remind you that 1 year ago some clues made players think that Microsoft could buy SEGA, although they did not have much foundation. In case the purchase is completed, it would be very interesting, because before developing the first Xbox, Microsoft thought about buying SEGA and thus entering the console business; however, it fell through because Bill Gates did not believe he “had enough muscle to stop Sony,” according to an old statement by Joachim Kempin, a former Microsoft executive (via IGN ).
What do you think of these details? Do you think Microsoft is preparing a new acquisition the size of Bethesda? Tell us in the comments.