Microsoft Explored Acquiring Sega, Bungie, and IO Interactive
In recent years, Microsoft has considered acquiring Sega, Bungie, and IO Interactive.
In November 2020, Xbox boss Phil Spencer emailed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood, seeking approval to approach Sega Sammy for acquiring its gaming studios.
According to an email seen by The Verge, Spencer described Sega as having a well-balanced portfolio of games with global appeal, which could help accelerate Xbox Game Pass both on and off-console.
Spencer added that Sega was a highly attractive acquisition target due to its global PC catalog, mobile presence in Asia, and strong brand affinity on consoles through its classic IP.
These details were revealed in internal documents from Microsoft’s ongoing court case against the US Federal Trade Commission, which aims to block Microsoft’s proposed $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Sega also appeared in an “M&A final watchlist” document from April 2021. Other companies on the watchlist included Bungie (later acquired by Sony), Zynga (which merged with Rockstar owner Take-Two), IO Interactive (the maker of Hitman), Supergiant Games (the developer of Hades), Niantic (the studio behind Pokémon Go), Thunderful, Playrix, and Scopely.
If Microsoft completes the Activision Blizzard acquisition, it would be the largest deal in the gaming industry, surpassing Take-Two’s $12.7 billion acquisition of Zynga.
Last week, Spencer mentioned that Microsoft had extensive discussions with Zynga but decided to pursue something larger given their limited starting space in the mobile business.
