. In early 2022, Microsoft announced a plan to buy the company Activision Blizzard for nearly $70 billion. This deal has still not materialized, however, because Microsoft’s main rival in the gaming market, Sony, claims that it would make the American company a monopoly.
which will decide the fate of this gigantic transaction. Microsoft and Sony have been throwing arguments to prove their point for many weeks.
A side effect of this legal skirmish is the appearance in the public sphere of documents that – under other circumstances – would never see the light of day. One such document is a list of game producers and publishers that Microsoft has considered (and perhaps is still considering) to take over. On the document dated 2021 we will find some well-known names.
Microsoft list Microsoft
CD Projekt and Techland on Microsoft’s secret list
When it comes to domestic producers, he appeared here, of course CD Project RED. This is not a big surprise. The fact that Microsoft would be interested in taking over the Warsaw studio has been talked about in the industry for years. Both companies remain in very close relations, which is confirmed by the close cooperation at the premiere of “Cyberpunk 2077”.
The list of Microsoft also includes Wroclaw techland (“Cal of Juarez”, “Dying Light”), Krakow Blooper Team (“The Medium”, “Blair Witch”), 11 bit studios (“Frostpunk”) or finally People Can Fly (“Outriders”).
It is worth noting that the list includes over 100 companies. In April 2021. Microsoft was supposed to narrow it down to 17 items, and among the most important “transfer targets” of the giant from Redmond were CD Projekt, Techland, FromSoftware, IO Interactive, GearBox Software and Sega.
According to the information obtained by The Verge journalists, it was the Japanese company that at some point became a priority for Microsoft. In internal emails, Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox division, allegedly convinced the company’s president, Satyia Nadella, that Sega would be an ideal candidate for the acquisition – due to the portfolio of older games that could power the Xbox Game Pass service. Ultimately, however, the transaction did not take place, because Microsoft focused on the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
