Microsoft's ongoing legal battle against the US Federal Trade Commission as it tries to stop the Redmond technology giant's $75-billion Activision Blizzard merger has thrown up some interesting information.
As reported by BNN Bloomberg, Microsoft considered purchasing Japanese gaming giants such as Square Enix in 2019. It also revealed that Microsoft's Xbox Chief, Phil Spencer requested approval from CEO, Satya Nadella, to acquire Sega Sammy Holdings, parent company to Sega in 2020.
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The acquisition would give Microsoft a foothold in Japan, a territory that the US company has struggled with, and bolster their line-up of titles on Game Pass, the company's subscription service for games.
Following reports of Microsoft's interest, Sega's Chief Operating Officer, Shuji Utsumi said they were not interested in acquisition talks right now.
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Utsumi did reiterate Sega's close partnership with Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant, "particularly has a high regard for us. Xbox’s Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond are really serious about values that video game fans emphasize."
In 2021, the Japanese gaming company, whose stable of IPs like Sonic The Hedgehog date back to the early years of gaming, announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft to overhaul its game development process using the Azure cloud platform.
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