Xbox Acquisition |OT6| If this is about competition, let us have competition

[TheBrightestSun]

I personally don’t expect Sony going after CDPR at all.

Kadokawa is interesting case, I wonder if Bamco would be interested in it.

[pg2g]

CDPR strikes me as having too much pride to sell at the bottom unless they actually reach a point where they have a hard time executing due to funds.

[TheBrightestSun]

@pg2g

CDPR strikes me as having too much pride to sell at the bottom unless they actually reach a point where they have a hard time executing due to funds.

Probably. The thing is that the best price they can expect right now is 3b (50% premium) and they were 12b at their peak

[Friday]

CDPR is a good target for Sony . They lack RPGs . Witcher IP can help them big time .

[AllianceOfficer]

@Friday

CDPR is a good target for Sony . They lack RPGs . Witcher IP can help them big time .

This is the same thing that you could say about Square Enix being a good target for Xbox.

[Knottian (Daniel)]

Xbox Acquisitions

PlayStation Acquisitions

[Friday]

@AllianceOfficer

This is the same thing that you could say about Square Enix being a good target for Xbox.

yup . Xbox should target Capcom or SE and Sony should target CDPR .

[NierlyCrazy (Alex)]

I guess a big question I’ve been wondering when it comes to publishers… does it make more sense to go for a publisher that has been hesitant to support Game Pass? Thus brute forcing them onto the service? For Example: Take Two, ABK

Or does it make more sense to go for a publisher you have solid ties with already and have been prominent members of your service? For example: SEGA, EA, Bethesda

Maybe it’s a mix of both? Obviously for cases where Microsoft wants to work on a “hands-off” approach, the stronger ties publishers probably make more sense (although EA might be a special case with some of their monetization practices).

Idk, something I’ve been thinking on….

And no worries, I’ll be sharing my Japan plan sometime in the next week. Just need to find the energy and time to make it a cohesive statement. Also not sure if I should be putting it in this thread or another one since it isn’t 100% acquisition focused (but is built off of it a bit).

[Cayde4Ever (Cayde)]

@NierlyCrazy

And no worries, I’ll be sharing my Japan plan sometime in the next week. Just need to find the energy and time to make it a cohesive statement. Also not sure if I should be putting it in this thread or another one since it isn’t 100% acquisition focused (but is built off of it a bit).

Been wondering when you would get to that lol. Gotta say I’m excited to see your dream plan.

[TheBrightestSun]

@NierlyCrazy

I guess a big question I’ve been wondering when it comes to publishers… does it make more sense to go for a publisher that has been hesitant to support Game Pass? Thus brute forcing them onto the service? For Example: Take Two, ABK

Or does it make more sense to go for a publisher you have solid ties with already and have been prominent members of your service? For example: SEGA, EA, Bethesda

I think Microsoft’s acquisitions of the publishers do not have any relation to the Game Pass support of the publisher.

I stick to my opinion that Microsoft acquisitions are all about IPs, engagement values.

• Bethesda brought them big IPs (Doom, Wolfenstein, TES) and with long legs (TES, Fallout). I don’t think TESO or FO76 were even that important for Microsoft there.
• Activision - big IPs with enormous engagement value (COD & Warzone/F2P), als COD Mobile.
• Blizzard - big IPs with huge engagement value (Diablo, Warcraft, Overwatch), also Diablo Immortal (I know, I know).
• King - big IPs with humongous engagement value (Candy Crush)

I split ABK into three separate publishers, because essentially they have acquired three publishers at once. ABK is a very big outliner in a sense that it was an absolutely incredible opportunity to gain so much stuff at once from mobile presense (Candy Crush, COD Mobile, Diablo Immorrtal) to even their own cinematics studio (via Blizzard). Not to mention strong PC presense (Warcraft, Starcraft). I know people don’t care about ABK here, but it is one of the best acquisitions (if not the best) that Microsoft could do.

Sega is a firmly in Game Pass camp (probably due to alliance). Also Microsoft was able to bring Koei Tecmo with Day 1 release in Game Pass. EA provides EA Play to Game Pass, Ubisoft also gives game there and there. We should also consider that Riot Games deal also kinda puts Tencent in Microsoft’s camp (lol).

I personally advocate all the time for

• Take 2 - though I kinda lost interest in them recently. Aside a question mark regarding GTA exclusivity (there is no mainline COD / F2P COD situation that Microsoft can leverage), they are kinda Activision/King without Blizzard. Activision as they have GTA and all the resources are thrown into those mines, King due to Zynga. They do have NBA but its exclusivity is highly unlikely and Game Pass deal can be negotiated like MLB in the future
• Capcom - a lot of IPs can be made exclusive and they have IPs with high engagement values like SF (remains to be seen) and Monster Hunter. Also they are the only japanese publisher that does not have ties with other industries. The only question mark regarding exclusivity is Resident Evil, because Sony invested a lot in that IP (they even have their own website dedicated to RE).
• WB - only under the guise that Microsoft will able to grab DC IPs. Otherwise I don’t see anything else aside NRS.
• Square Enix - ideal case scenario is some kind of alliance where Square Enix would get access to Azure, while Microsoft will get Game Pass support (like with Sega). As the acquisition target - aside FF, they are not worth much but FF14 is huge (and it fixes JRPG problem, but it can be fixed without acquisitons). And with so many contracts years in advance regarding FF, Game Pass (both PC nor Xbox) will not gain much at all.

The reason I don’t bring Sega is due to Sammy and the fact they made an alliance which tells me that Microsoft decided not to buy them for a time being. Same with Koei for example due to Game Pass deal. We saw multiple times that Microsoft does not make any deals if they are planning to acquire the company in the future (unless something unexpected happens). In fact they don’t even bid over time exclusivity or marketing deals, leaving it alone.

[pg2g]

@NierlyCrazy

Maybe it’s a mix of both? Obviously for cases where Microsoft wants to work on a “hands-off” approach, the stronger ties publishers probably make more sense (although EA might be a special case with some of their monetization practices).

I don’t think having or not having games in Game Pass is any indication of the strength of the ties between the companies. Ultimately the decision makers should make the most profitable moves for the company and some may not believe that that is Game Pass.

[JonnJonzz]

@TheBrightestSun

Anecdotally, now their worth is exactly the one I have always envisioned…Though after Bungie, I think their worth is even less as they don’t have recurring revenue stream or high engagement IP.

Bungie (owns Destiny) cost 2.4b + 1.3b retention bonus. CDPR does not have such revenue stream and their overall revenue was 200m+ with 50m+ profits. So even 2b probably is more.

I understand what you mean about CDPR and Witcher, because of Cyberpunk, yet at the same time they changed up what they are good at, which is third person games, then switching to first person and then on top of that going from a fantasy world to a futuristic world.

I also should have reworded what I was meaning about getting some developers from Bethesda or Obsidian, take how Id Software helped Bethesda with the gun mechanics in the Fallout games. That is what I was more meaning.

@AllianceOfficer

CDPR has already expanded to the US, they bought a studio in New York.

Well US Senators want more game developers in New York, so have MS just expand the CDPR New York office.

[AllianceOfficer]

I mean Xbox could really go ham in Poland and acquire CDPR and PCF. They like to pair studios regionally. Also both would be help them take Europe and appeal to the quintessential hardcore gamer. Theyd be poised to hold that mantle for good.

[Madumbrella (Mad)]

@JonnJonzz

It really would be a crying shame if MS misses their opportunity to pick up CDPR.

Cyberpunk might not have lived up to the hype, but CDPR has really did a good job recovering it and then they’ll have the new Witcher game, which will be great.

Plus if MS picks them up, maybe they get to expand, open up a new studio, in America or somewhere.

Another thing that would be great is, MS would help this company and who knows maybe you have some developers from Bethesda or Obsidian that switch to working at CDPR instead.

If they get able to launch more than 1 game per gen, I am in

[Hue]

@AllianceOfficer

I mean Xbox could really go ham in Poland and acquire CDPR and PCF. They like to pair studios regionally. Also both would be help them take Europe and appeal to the quintessential hardcore gamer. Theyd be poised to hold that mantle for good.

Germany have the biggest market in Europe so it probably makes more sense to go after German studios.

[TheBrightestSun]

@Madumbrella

If they get able to launch more than 1 game per gen, I am in

A lot of modern big games are launch once per 5-7 years which is basically a gen indeed.

[Madumbrella (Mad)]

@TheBrightestSun

A lot of modern big games are launch once per 5-7 years which is basically a gen indeed.

I know, just asking because if we will only see one game per gen from them, I will prefer to see other publishers instead, just my opinion

[TheBrightestSun]

@Madumbrella

I know, just asking because if we will only see one game per gen from them, I will prefer to see other publishers instead, just my opinion

Well, this gen it will be probably Witcher 4 only as it won’t be released until 2024-2025 probably and the next game will probably be 2030…

[OD62]

@AllianceOfficer

I mean Xbox could really go ham in Poland and acquire CDPR and PCF. They like to pair studios regionally. Also both would be help them take Europe and appeal to the quintessential hardcore gamer. Theyd be poised to hold that mantle for good.

Do you want to take Europe with PCF? If you look at the top 20 game sales in Europe, you will mainly see Activision, EA, Take Two and Ubisoft. PCF was never considered a big studio, most gamers don’t even know them. The “success” of Outriders rests above all on the gamepass, but reviews of the game are very mixed.

[AllianceOfficer]

@OD62

Do you want to take Europe with PCF? If you look at the top 20 game sales in Europe, you will mainly see Activision, EA, Take Two and Ubisoft. PCF was never considered a big studio, most gamers don’t even know them. The “success” of Outriders rests above all on the gamepass, but reviews of the game are very mixed.

No, both CDPR and PCF. CDPR would continue to do what they do and PCF could take those big IP like Doom, Gears, Halo, Wolfenstein, and Cyberpunk. They could even be the Perfect Dark studio.