Deus Ex. I know I’ve long acquisition begged for the Eidos-Three (Crystal Dynamics, IOI, and Eidos teams), but if that wasn’t possible I’d at least like to see Arkane, or some other first-party studio, keep the series alive. Few game franchises hit like Deus Ex does IMO.
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Tomb Raider and Deus Ex.
Also buy the teams behind.
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I would have them buy the Crossgen comic franchise from Disney and make the Crossgen universe games.
I love Paramount, but I agree with you, Warner makes much more sense for Microsoft and Xbox. However, Warner appears to be interested in acquiring Paramount. The perfect scenario would be a merger between Warner and Paramount, followed by an acquisition of the company by Microsoft. MAX would become an essential platform and Microsoft would have the weapons to compete with Disney. That would be truly amazing, but I’m more expecting a merger with Skydance or an acquisition by Apple.
Lord of the rings with Middle-Earth Enterprises.
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Probably Donkey Kong, being kinda dead with nintendo, I have a feeling xbox would utilize the IP more.
Imagine CD and a new Legacy of Kain!
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Especially if they get Amy Hennig back too!
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You didn’t state any rules but I’ve been trying to think of a franchise that Xbox could (somewhat) realistically acquire and utilise, and would fit with their existing line up. So I’m gonna answer Monkey Island. It’s small, but it’s underutilised and has enough roots with Xbox (Doublefine, Rare) that I think they could make use of it. Potentially with an acquisition of one of the remnant Telltale studios or a similar team to headline it.
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Pretty good read,for those interested Paramount’s market cap is 10.9 billion. I think the combination of paramount and WB is the way to go if Microsoft decides to go into that business model.The combination would give them all the IP they would ever need.
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Is there any legitimacy to the rumors of paramount? I thought it was a misunderstanding
True, if they owned WB and Paramount they wouldn’t really have to worry about licensing ever again.
Harry Potter, Batman, Wonder Woman, Star Trek, SpongeBob, Looney Tunes, LEGO, TMNT & Mission Impossible to name a few.
My only concern would be if they do a full reversal and start making everything around WB/Paramount IP’s instead of fantastic new IP like Hi-Fi Rush.
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I don’t really want MS going anywhere near a movie focused company
WB at least has a huge gaming division but even then, WB is a trainwreck with ton of debt
Maybe they could one day but for now they need to focus on getting the ball rolling on mobile and building a unified ecosystem across all their devices
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WB would be such a mess to own . Their entertainment division is so messy and Microsoft would have to do a lot of heavy lifting to right the ship. They do own valuable IPs, so it could be worth it , but film and tv side would need a lot of help because the current ceo is awful
Acquiring Warner would already be a great foundation to enter this industry. Warner Bros could take advantage of the huge Xbox catalog, and Microsoft could possibly try to acquire The Lord of the Rings, LEGO and James Bond to create new games, films, series and toys.
Yes Paramount is in trouble. In any case, we should expect a massive consolidation of the industry in the coming years. I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple and Comcast were interested in Paramount to develop their streaming platform. I also expect Microsoft to enter the industry by purchasing Warner or Disney.
Yes, I agree with you. The merger must benefit both companies without preventing them from developing their respective content. An acquisition of Warner would probably be enough and the synergy between Warner and Xbox would be excellent. And as said earlier, a future acquisition of LOTR (Monolith), LEGO (TT Games) and James Bond (IOI) could be interesting for both Warner and Xbox.
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I have much more confidence in Warner than in Disney in recent years Dune is an Incredible film, Joker is a Masterpiece I also loved Tom & Jerry I found Barbie original and I say to myself that Minecraft in 2025 can be a real success and today I went to see Wonka which is superb I’m really looking forward to Joker Folie à deux and Mad Max Furiosa as well as Dune 2. I think they are my favorite entertainment company if we add to that Rick and Morty, House of the Dragons, the Harry Potter series and Walcome to Derry (which was pushed back to 2025) they really offer quality things I’m just a little disappointed with the DC treatment at the moment.
But if Microsoft buys Warner they must also think about recovering Middle Earth from Embracer having Dune and LOTR which are among Phil Spencer’s favorite universes I think it would be a career moment for Phil
https://twitter.com/BondSarah_Bond/status/1640416231143653376
Yeah , they have valuable IPs , but Zaslav is on a destructive path. Microsoft, would need to restructure the current management and goals of WBD because at the moment it’s a mess . Video game wise it’s very enticing having access to those IPs. Plus, they could find a way to link WB streaming service to gamepass
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Zaslov is great news for Microsoft if WBD shareholders want an exit and payday. The historic IP will automatically place MS in the film/tv/crossmedia top 3. Xbox Showpass for WBD streaming to go along with Xbox Gamepass. Xbox Entertainment Bundle for a low monthly price of $49.99! 
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We talked about Sega this week end and how they could be bought.
Sega had layoff at Relic and Creative Assembly this year and cancelled game (Hyenas). Company is not going so well, at a time they plan to go big.
There have been layoff all over the industry, this is a bad year. Even MS has downsized Coalition and 343 early this year.
Dune is not owned by Warner, Legendary owns the rights to the films. Legendary had a partnership with Warner but that ended during COVID when Warner released Legendary’s films on HBO Max rather than delaying their theatrical releases. Now, Legendary is partnered with Sony Pictures.
Zaslav makes the necessary decisions to pay down debt, increase value, and make the company more attractive for future acquisition. Some of his decisions are terrible, but it wasn’t Zaslav who destroyed Warner, it was decades of bad decisions long before he arrived. Beyond that, Warner’s potential is still there and Zaslav is replaceable.
half true. Legendary is still working with WB. WB is still the co-producer of Dune. They are still making Dune Prophecy and Dune Messiah. Sony does not fund big budget non-spiderman films so Legendary are still stuck with WB for their $200M+ films if they want to go the theatrical route.