Microsoft considered buying Sega and Czech studios

In recent years, Microsoft has spent billions of dollars expanding its publishing capabilities and Game Pass subscriptions. Through the ongoing federal litigation, we have learned more.

Microsoft considered buying more than 100 companies in 2021. Sega, Bungie (creators of Destiny), IO Interactive (Hitman), Supergiant Games (Hades), Niantic (Pokémon GO), Thunderful Games, Playrix, Scopely or Zynga are the furthest among them. Last year Bungie was bought by Sony for $3.6 billion, while mobile giant Zynga joined Take-Two Interactive for $12.7 billion.

With the acquisition of Sega, the goal was to support the growth of PC and Xbox Game Pass in Asia and beyond that particular market with the Total War, Football Manager, Sonic or Yakuza series of games for PC. In an email to Microsoft CEO and CFO, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s gaming division, wrote about balanced global catalog, which the owner of the blue hedgehog Sonic has. The email was sent in November 2020 asking Spencer for permission to approach Sega with the intention of buying it along with the studios. Unfortunately, we no longer know what answer he received. Nexon’s investment could have been an obstacle to the acquisition.

However, in April 2021, Sega was still on the list of companies Microsoft is monitoring for mergers and acquisitions. This list includes the aforementioned companies, as well as Behavior Interactive, Housemarque (the studio was bought by Sony in 2021), Remedy Entertainment (Alan Wake), Larian Studios, Rebellion Developments and Paradox Interactive.

Also there you can see 11-bit studios (Frostpunk), Czech Bohemia Interactive (Arma, Vigor), Prague SCS Software (Euro Truck Simulator, American Truck Simulator), Bloober Team (The Medium), CD Projekt RED (The Witcher), FromSoftware ( Elden Ring), Frontier Development, Giants Software (Farming Simulator) or other publishing companies such as 505 Games, Devolver Digital, Focus Interactive or Team17.

We also learn from the documents about the mysterious new brand Materia by Bungiedue to arrive in 2025 and we finally have confirmation that Project Dragon by IO Interactive is a role-playing shooter for PC and Xbox Series X/S.. The game will be published by Xbox Game Studios, so it will be available on Game Pass on release day. The creators of Hitman teased this new world project for a long time, describing it as an online fantasy RPG that will expand over the years.

Despite Phil Spencer doesn’t want to go the Sony route and buy exclusives from other publishers.. He sees the practice as very aggressive and believes that the Japanese company is using the money from the games Microsoft sells on the PlayStation (such as Minecraft) to buy exclusive games from other publishers and developers. At least that’s what Spencer said last week during her court testimony. It will continue this week.