Yeah me too… I was one of them lol.
not to wave away the allegations but those things are probably why Kotick want to sell even though MS will be taking on the major headache that comes with it
Good shout, Ubisoft gives a lot of output at their price point too! In addition to Stranger Things we have previously had Prince of Persia and Assassins Creed films too!
The Division would be a great film/show.
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Plus, @Cairnst hit the nail on the head with licensed IP and the fact that Ubisoft has plenty of experience, and a department dedicated just to external partnerships these days.
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now let’s talk about those individual studio MS has been in talks with that jez said was on hold because of the Activision deal list of guess of who they might be from the consideration list
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Sega. Crystal Dynamics.
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Ya if the studio puts out good games. Plus the fact that they are public makes it a bit of a headache.
Cost+ being public means they are probably down the list a decent amount.
Bethesda Double 11 4a Games Bohemia Interactive
Xbox Games Studio Larisl ca
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Yes. To all of them 
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Now with the FTC at their weakest since like forever. I think it a even greater time to strike and get another big player. Sega for example, etc… FTC under Lina has destroy their reputation. Strike now and try to get another Publisher before a new competent head of FTC replace Lina.
I’m greedy as fuck. I want even more games onto gamepass lol.
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I don’t think immediately buying another publisher after a very hotly contested mega-purchase is the way to go. Keep in mind that if Microsoft did do that then they would certainly have regulators that already have lots of data and arguments more well equipped to argue and point to concerns.
However, if Microsoft just continues on, executes on putting games where they said they would for cloud and Nintendo, and continue to put COD on PS - then that’s when it’s go time again for another publisher. At that point, Microsoft has a clear example of then holding to all of their promises and statements. Assuming that Xbox is still losing behind Playstation and Nintendo in hardware sales then they would have shown that 1 game in a service doesn’t make all the difference.
They can continue to add independent studios in the meantime as well.
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Asobo, certain affinity and trying to pry chrystal dynamics and edios away along with ioi to reform square west should be the priority. Then maybe in a year or so get sega.
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Can’t see another publisher immediately after this purchase. If they do buy think it will be individual studios probably from the final list from the FTC case. This is Microsoft and they will probably look at vertical mergers that help in the cloud or AI as the next big purchase
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Studios that fall below the FTC merger trigger price of $111M
Bohemia Interactive
Certain Affinity
SuperGiant
11 bit
Playdead
Int/Night
IO Interactive might be under since they’re headquartered in Denmark and don’t own any IP.
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Yeah I would go for this, start with the studios and then go for the big fish that is SEGA. I guess it really depends on what happens after the Activision deal closes hopefully on Monday. If we see straight away acquisitions from Sony and others then I could see Microsoft going for SEGA quite early.
IO is interesting. Project 007 and Project Fantasy don’t have attached platforms. MS would easily get exclusive games right away!
- Hitman 3 had a budget of $22.5 million
- IO earned $78 million following the release of Hitman 3
- IO in terms of profit, the company made $42 million
According to this level of success, the studio is planning on doubling the number of employees from 200 to 400 by the time Project 007 releases
IO also has 5 offices which can’t be cheap obviously, especially for a privately owned company, IO Barcelona and IO Briton opened just recently
Project Fantasy is according to the court documents is confirmed Xbox exclusive and judging by the PCF deal. I’m guessing the budget is around $50 million too
Hopefully IO Interactive is the next XGS acquisition and both parties are awaiting the ABK deal to close. Having a studio who can make a quality game like Hitman 3 on a measly $23 million? Now imagine them with the resources and cash of Microsoft behind them!
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IO is becoming more and more appealing every time they are in the news. Simply put IO is a brilliant pick up for anyone, James Bond marketing with Xbox??
Here’s a document I did ages ago for studios/publishers Xbox could go for. I’ve got a data analytics background so it’s my jam.
Note : Company values are way out of date & yes spelling errors.
If anyone would be interested in a list of pubs/devs containing staff count, ip, value etc let me know and let me know which devs/pubs to look at.
I’ve got a flight coming up and will have a long layover so could pass the time.
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If MS buys 5 studios in 8 months, that will be their MO. If they go silent for 10 months+ itll be a publisher.
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Prediction: MS’s next big entertainment acquisition will be WBD. WB media + Xbox games in a subscription service = Ms controls the living room.
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