Xbox is ‘still looking’ for other development teams to acquire

Microsoft has reiterated that it’s actively looking to acquire more game development studios.

The company announced in September that it intends to acquire ZeniMax Media and its game publisher Bethesda Softworks for $7.5 billion, with the deal expected to be completed in early 2021.

The move will see Xbox Game Studios grow from 15 to 23 development teams, while Bethesda’s franchises will be added to Xbox Game Pass, which has over 15 million subscribers, according to Microsoft.

In a new interview with Bloomberg, Xbox head Phil Spencer said Microsoft is looking to further boost its in-house development capabilities through acquisitions.

“Games are what gamers play. We build these platforms and services to deliver the best games to gamers everywhere, so we need a great supply of first-party teams,” he said.

“Bethesda nearly doubles the size of our first-party studios, meaning the studios that build games as part of Xbox, and we’re still out there looking for other teams. It’s important that we have a continued supply of great games for our gaming subscription and platforms.”

Microsoft has aggressively grown its portfolio of first-party studios in the three years building up to this week’s Xbox Series X/S launch, mainly through acquisitions.

Its acquisitions during this period include Ninja Theory (Hellblade), Playground Games (Forza Horizon), Obsidian (Fallout: New Vegas), InXile (Wasteland 3), Double Fine (Psychonauts), Undead Labs (State of Decay), and Compulsion Games (We Happy Few).

Employing some 2,300 staff worldwide, Bethesda Softworks studios include Bethesda Game Studios (Fallout, Elder Scrolls), id Software (Doom), ZeniMax Online Studios (Elder Scrolls Online), Arkane (Dishonored, Prey), MachineGames (Wolfenstein), Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within), Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

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