Once it’s done, it’s time to shop in a mall called Embracer.
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I do wonder how much/little they would be interested.
CD/Eidos has felt like a no brainer for what seems like forever now.
Do we think they are interested in any of the others - 4A Games, Dark Horse Comics, Deep Silver, Gearbox, Middle Earth Enterprises etc?
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As well they should.
Evil never sleeps. It waits - Zack Snyders Justice League
Microsoft is waiting for the next Nintendo fuck up. Just like they did with Activision.
Maybe that’s why Nintendo is afraid to release a new console. Each new iteration to them feels like a flop is inbound.
Pick up IOI, CD, Eidos, Platinum. SEGA before next gen start. Wait for James Gunn’s DCU to collapse and then pickup WBIE for the cheap. Hell after another round of bombs WB might be willing to part ways with DC wholesale.
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I don’t feel Nintendo will ever do anything close to a Wii U flop again, most treat the GameCube as a flop but it did reasonably well at the time (Compared to Xbox for example).
I think James Gunn might actually do a really good job.
The current Sad/Dark DC had two options… go dark-realistic (Nolan style) or the funny action route (Marvel style). The latter seems to pull in a larger more generic audience which Gunn did well with GoTG.
I personally want Xbox to pick up more single player action/adventure studios. I know their future vision is looking at multiplayer/live service games but I think it’s the below type of studios which will actually change Xbox’s perception in the media:
- Crystal Dynamics
- Eidos Montréal
- Asobo & Focus Entertainment
- IOI
- Remedy
- Rocksteady (WB)
- Monolith (WB)
- Avalanche (WB)
Once they have those big adventure games like Tomb Raider, GoTG/Legacy of Kain, Plague Tale, Hitman, Batman etc they can fill all their other ‘holes’.
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Didn’t og Xbox sell more than GameCube?
Yep Xbox outsold it by 2 million, I just meant relative for the time 
- it wasn’t a Wii U for example.
Wow, what a week. It’s so nice to see ABK come to a positive conclusion.
It seems to me that Microsoft was interested in GEARBOX. Borderlands games are big sellers. Having them exclusively on Xbox would be a big argument for the Xbox ecosystem. There are other interesting studios, but I think Embracer will mainly seek to sell its big AAA game studios. Middle-Earth would be a great acquisition if Microsoft plans to acquire Warner Discovery.
I think so too, but will the public be ready to trust the DCU again after Warner’s multiple failures?
This is an awesome list and I hope it happens. This would be a big win for Xbox.
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Maybe the next one!! Although I would like the acquisition of a dozen partner studios before the next publisher. The Embracer situation also seems urgent. Microsoft is going to have a lot of work after ABK. I can’t wait to see what happens next.
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I hope MS buys Gearbox
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I know Gearbox owns the Borderlands IP, but I wonder how 2K’s rights work and how that might affect an outlook on it.
I agree with others here I’d rather see some smaller pick ups like Asobo and Certain Affinity, while potentially picking up a few things from Embracer like Eidos and Crystal Dynamics if those become available.
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Get a few independents and float under the radar a bit. Lots of fantastic, efficient independent studios that would help further diversify the Xbox first party.
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Can they wait until October 19?
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Nightmare scenario is Microsoft doesn’t put a bid in because the ABK deal is still not closed and Amazon swoops in and grabs Crystal/Eidos to get the Tomb Raider IP. Would be Double Helix all over again.
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If I’m Microsoft, I’m going to Embracer and locking down studios for 10 years and content for Game Pass. Also adding the ability to match any potential offers on the studios or IPs that I’m working with.
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Im pretty sure that selling off individual portions of a business is not the same as acquiring a whole company and would not require reporting to the trade agencies. Does anyone have more background to either confirm or refute that?