Emails show Microsoft considered acquiring Bungie and SEGA

Published , by Asif Khan

The FTC vs. Microsoft hearings are chugging along with news dropping almost daily. Today's latest revelation is that Microsoft considered acquiring SEGA and Bungie as recently as November 2020, the month that Xbox Series X and S consoles launched.

Xbox head Phil Spencer emailed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella about acquiring SEGA in November 2020.
Source: The Verge/Microsoft

Other companies that have surfaced as Microsoft acquisition targets include IO Interactive, Supergiant Games, Niantic, Playrix, and Zynga. Zynga ended up being acquired by Take-Two in a $12.7 billion deal a few years after Microsoft kicked the tires.

Sony went on to acquire Destiny 2 developer Bungie for nearly $4 billion. The information coming out of the Microsoft FTC hearing is only part of the story, as we have not seen any reply from CEO Satya Nadella about these potential acquisitions. “The global appeal of Sega’s beloved IP will help expand Xbox Game Pass’s reach to new audiences around the world, most notably in Asia, where localized content is critical to success,” said Xbox's Phil Spencer in his pitch to Nadella and Microsoft CFO Amy Hood. SEGA and Microsoft did form a strategic alliance in 2021 to make "Super Game," but we have not heard much of that project since.

There is a lot of information coming out of the Microsoft FTC hearing, so keep it locked on Shacknews for all of the Xbox news as it breaks.