It was revealed today that Microsoft and Team Xbox have considered buying the likes of SEGA and Bungie in the past, with the information emerging courtesy of the edge As part of this week’s FTC hearing.
In fact, the outlet obtained evidence of this via an email from November 2020, which shows Xbox chief Phil Spencer writing to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood about his interest in acquiring SEGA:
“I am writing to seek approval of a strategy for communicating with Sega Sammy regarding a potential acquisition of their Sega game studios.”
“We believe Sega has created a well-balanced portfolio of games across segments with global geographic appeal, and it will help us accelerate Xbox Game Pass both on and off the console.”
In addition to SEGA, the “Final Watch List” from 2021 highlights interest in the following companies:
Obviously, none of those came to fruition, and Bungie actually ended up being bought out by Sony. It’s unknown why it didn’t happen, aside from Zynga ending up with Microsoft in favor of acquiring Activision Blizzard. It appears that SEGA was still listed as a “key target” in the merger review document as of April 2021.
There has been a lot of talk for a long time that Microsoft might have been interested in buying SEGA, so it’s interesting to know that it was actually true! It just isn’t likely anymore, but we’d definitely love to see that happen…
“Alcohol maven. Evil bacon lover. Wannabe social media geek. Travel guru. Amateur introvert. Pop culture nerd.”