in a recent interview with squawk asia (opens in new tab)CNBC’s market-focused vertical, Xbox head Phil Spencer, said he’s not buying future game studios, even as the publisher continues to finalize Activision Blizzard’s mammoth $75 billion purchase. does not exclude
When asked if the company would “continue to make acquisitions” or pause before future acquisitions, Spencer said:
“This is a very competitive market and I don’t think anything can be put on hold. Tencent is today the largest gaming company on the planet and continues to invest heavily in game content and game creators. I have.”
Spencer continued, “Sony is a bigger business than the gaming industry today and continues to invest. It’s a very competitive market.” We want to provide players with great content, and we will continue our activities in the future.”
Even before Spencer directly confirmed it here, I thought this was indeed a likely scenario. The gaming industry appears to have entered a new paradigm of consolidation, with companies such as Sony, Embracer Group, Tencent and Microsoft making huge acquisitions one after another over the past few years.
In a further conversation with Squawk, Spencer insisted the company had no interest in acquiring Discord, saying he was very happy with the more collaborative relationship between the two companies. (opens in new tab) ever.
Spencer seemed more receptive to Microsoft’s move in the JRPG space. The interview took place during Spencer’s visit to Japan for the Tokyo Game Show, where executives said JRPGs remain “home” to Sony and Nintendo while Microsoft continues to thrive in the Japanese market. He said he was struggling with
Spencer explained that he held a large conference focused on building partnerships with Japanese developers and meeting their needs. The head of Xbox ended the interview by saying that Microsoft currently has no plans to increase the price of the Xbox console, following Sony’s recent price hike for his PS5. (opens in new tab) Released in most of the world except America.
