What studio will Microsoft acquire next?

 

 

   We all know that Microsoft has been very ambitious as of late with Activision being their latest conquest. Microsoft's newest acquisition has caused quite a stir in the gaming community with PlayStation fans and even some Xbox fans are worried that Microsoft is monopolizing the industry. As an Xbox fan myself, I'm very excited to see news games that will be available on game pass but I can understand the frustration. Here's my thoughts, I'd be perfectly happy  if Microsoft can continue expanding until it can buy out PlayStation as well, that way we could only have one console to buy with all the games on it instead of different games being exclusive to different consoles which causes some gamers to never be able to play them. However that probably won't happen anytime in the foreseeable future so right now we're left speculating about which studio Microsoft will buy next. Here are a few possibilities. 

Konami

    Rumors have been circulating that Microsoft is going to buy Konami since last year. Konami is a beloved Japanese game studio with popular IP such as Metal Gear, Castlevania, and Silent Hill. A lot of Konami's IP is available on Xbox Game Pass but Microsoft does not officially own any of it. Konami's net worth is about 200 billion dollars so if Microsoft was going to buy them then it would be a massive acquisition. The price alone would be incredibly risky for Microsoft but if they could get Konami making new exclusive games for Xbox then that could also be putting the nail in the coffin for PlayStation. I personally think that Microsoft is going to be cooling down before even thinking about an acquisition of this size but I am constantly being surprised by Xbox so who knows. 

Square Enix

    Now this one seems pretty unlikely considering the fact that Square Enix has multiple games that are already exclusive to PlayStation but there are a lot of Square Enix games in the Xbox Game Pass library which means that they do have a good relationship. When asked last year if Microsoft or Sony are trying to buy them, Square Enix denied getting any offers. However that could definitely change now that PlayStation is scrambling to react to Microsoft's Activision buyout. PlayStation could buy Square Enix or Ubisoft but with the new trend of game console companies buying other game companies anything could happen.

Capcom

    This is another Japanese studio that probably won't be bought out anytime soon but there is a lot of great IP here if Microsoft was interested in buy it. Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Street Fighter, and Monster Hunter are just a few of the amazing games that Capcom brings to the table. Capcom is only worth about 5 billion dollars which is less than Bethesda and Activision both. It would be a good idea for this to be Microsft's next acquisition if they really want to keep buying more studios.

Nintendo

    Nintendo is a huge company and is very successful in both Japan and the U.S. Microsoft has said that they were planning to buy a Japanese studio to strengthen the sales of their new consoles in Japan. That's why there are so many Japanese game studios on this list. It wasn't that long ago that Microsoft was laughed out of the room when suggesting a buyout of Nintendo but after the Activision buyout it doesn't seem so unlikely. It would be very exciting to see Nintendo games get ported to the Xbox and vice versa. I don't have a switch but if they put Xbox Game Pass on their then I might actually get one. Nintendo is worth about 60 billion dollars and Microsoft is worth over 2 trillion dollars. It is very possible for Microsoft to buy Nintendo but it's questionable as to whether or not Nintendo would be willing to sell.

Take-Two 

    Take-Two has been working closely with Microsoft for a while now and I think that there's a very good possibility that they could be the next Xbox acquisition. Take-Two owns 2K and Rockstar games so they own; GTA, Red Dead Redemption, Max Payne, and all the 2K basketball games. Take-Two did just buyout a mobile developer called Zynga but I don't think that would make much of a difference in Microsoft buying them. Their networth is almost 20 billion which is a little bit pricey but if Microsoft wanted to buy them they could, heck if Microsoft wanted to buy the moon then they probably could. 

FromSoftware

    Yet another Japanes game studio that could be next on Xbox's list is FromSoftware. Dark Souls, Sekiro, Elden Ring, and PlayStation exclusive Bloodborne are the biggest games from the studio. Microsoft buying them could be huge for Xbox gamers. FromSoftware's net worth doesn't even reach a billion so it would be like buying a gumball for Microsoft. Even though FromSoftware has a good relationship with Sony, I think that it's very possible for Microsoft to buy them. While everyone is waiting for Sony to retaliate to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision, I think they already did. Sony bought Bungie for about 3 billion dollars. I think that is as far as they'll go for now because for some reason Sony hasn't been focusing on the gamers themselves but just on the money. That's why Phil Spencer's Xbox is going to crush Sony and possibly even buy them out in the not so distant future.