Apex and FIFA would fit with Microsoft wanting major casual market games like Call of Duty, Fifa is obviously not as big but in some markets it’s absolutely dominant. I’m not sure if EA is even considering selling, their last statement suggested they weren’t but IF EA became available I could see Microsoft acquiring them just to stop someone else getting them, and handling Apex/FIFA the same way they handle CoD (I’ll avoid the debate on exactly what that means). Plus they could finally complete The Three B’s under one roof (Bethesda, Bioware and Blizzard).
Wow I’ve been dismissing EA but looking at what they’ve got they’re not a bad get at all. You’ve got multiple long running sports franchises, Motive reviving Dead Space (horror is a gap in MIcrosoft’s portfolio), there’s a new studio being built for Skate (owning BOTH major skateboarding franchises), Criterion and Codemasters for a mountain of driving games, Maxis and the Sims which could be a very strong addition to game pass (especially if they treat it as more of a GaaS than an expansion farm) and on top of all that they have strong connections to a bunch of indie devs that they could continue to work with and from what I hear pretty good working conditions.
I don’t know how likely it is, especially anytime soon, but I personally would love a Microsoft acquisition of Ubisoft.
They used to be my favorite publisher, and I still love many of their games. They have some fantastic and well recognized IPs that could really shine under the right conditions.
An acquisition by Microsoft could allow them to get back to the type of games they used to make while continuing with the great games they’re currently making, and drop some of their more hated recent focuses such as NFT’s.
I still think Amazon gets Ubisoft. I’ve been saying it for years, and I’ll keep saying it until it becomes true and/or Ubisoft sells to someone else.
Huge IP library for Prime Video, huge workforce spread out globally, SP and MP experience, etc. It’s the smallest big publisher that Amazon can get for “cheap” (compared to EA or T2) and it would make a huge impact on the gaming industry.
I imagine they’d stay on consoles for a while, but “free with Luna” would start to become the marketing slogan. (I also think Luna should be bundled with Prime, but I know Luna isn’t available globally yet)
I agree with this. I dont think MS would be pleased if thier biggest rivals are the ones who are seeing Apex or GTA rake in the cash, as both those games along with COD are like Minecraft in the fact they just print money
Take-Two is really only worth it for GTA which would never be exclusive.
Ubisoft MIGHT be worth for the back-catalogue of OG, 360, X1 and X|S games and IP, but it’s a shit-ton of employees and problems on top of what Microsoft already has to deal with Acti-Blizz.
It’s more about Game Pass library, the power of the brands on the service and its appeal to casuals and the masses than exclusive imo.
Look at the top 15 from last decade in the US. Take Two is the missing link. And not a single Ubisoft game. The rest is Nintendo, Battlefield (2042 killed it), Star Wars and Destiny (now owned by Sony).
Plus Take Two is way more invested in mobile than Ubisoft (something that MS is looking for).
EA has too much baggage with licensed sports title (including even racing games). Microsoft acquires for big IPs to deliver “great exclusive content where Game Pass exists”. They have some strong IPs, but T2 is better alternative. They also have EA Play which is another subscription service so for regulators they can complain that Microsoft buys out competition.
But I think the next acquisition will be a japanese publisher. T2 is also a nice option. But it takes too much time for GTA.
Ubisoft would be a necessary sacrifice in order to simplify the process of acquisitions for Microsoft.
Unless Microsoft gets 0% cut on Playstation, I don’t see Game Pass getting their too or them becoming a third party publisher. Too much leverage to Sony as Sony can just cut Game Pass support and Microsoft won’t be able to return to hardware business anymore. So Microsoft won’t leave consoles and won’t put Game Pass on Playstation.
Square Enix is a wildcart (Sony won’t buy it probably) and I don’t see Sony going after Capcom either.
What? Why do you care abour Warzone 2 and Overwatch being multiplatform?
