Rumor: Microsoft wants to acquire Japanese game studios – Gaming – News

Microsoft is said to have takeover talks with various Japanese development studios. It is not known which studios are involved and how advanced the talks are. With possible acquisitions, Microsoft would like to increase Xbox’s share in Japan.

Several Japanese studios indicate that they have been approached by Microsoft, Bloomberg writes. The studios do not provide substantive details and they do not want to be mentioned by name. In a response, Microsoft says that acquisitions are a possibility, but that there is nothing to announce at the moment.

Microsoft is said to be working hard to gain a foothold in Japan with its Xbox consoles. Bloomberg cites figures from Japanese magazine Famitsu, stating that of console sales in the country this year, only 0.1 percent were Xbox. The PlayStation 4 accounts for 10.1 percent and the remaining 89.8 percent of sales are Nintendo Switch consoles.

Sony would focus less on Japan and more on America, because more PlayStation sales come from there. Fewer copies of the PlayStation 4 were sold in Japan than the predecessor. The Xbox Series X and S will be released in Japan immediately upon release on November 10. The Xbox One didn’t come out in the country until a year after its release in the United States.

Microsoft has already strengthened ties with various Japanese development studios in recent years. Games that previously only appeared on Sony’s PlayStation, such as those from the Yakuza and Final Fantasy series, are now also available for Xbox consoles. Some of those games are also included with the Game Pass subscription.

Japanese developer Koei Tecmo, known for Dead or Alive, Dynasty Warriors and Nioh, is also considering releasing more games for Xbox consoles if Microsoft continues to show interest in Japan. That is what a top executive of the studio tells Bloomberg.

Microsoft has been expanding its own development studios in recent years. In September, the Xbox manufacturer announced the takeover of Bethesda On. With that, Microsoft will acquire game franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Doom, Quake, Dishonored, Prey, Starfield and more. Since 2018, Microsoft also acquired Ninja Theory, Playground Games, Undead Labs, Compuslion Games, Obsidian Entertainment and inXile Entertainment.

–