Microsoft stunned the gaming world with its acquisition of Zenimax Media this week. Even then, CEO Satya Nadella notes this is not the last people will hear of them.
In an interview, the Microsoft CEO discussed they’re looking for further acquisitions. They are looking to acquire more studios and give their company an edge. Their struggle to fight off Sony’s Playstation is pushing them to take more studios in.
Nadella believes interactive media is the future
According to Nadella, he believes that their growing portfolio is about the future of software. While he’s not known for his video game enthusiasm, he sees the industry as it is. He’s putting his money on video games and their long-term staying power.
Three billion people look to gaming for entertainment, community, and achievement and our ambition is to empower each of them, wherever they play. Today is a step forward on that journey as we welcome the beloved studios and franchises of @Bethesda to @Xbox https://t.co/LENQCXTwBg
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) September 21, 2020
For starters, Microsoft bought off Minecraft company Mojang Studios from Markus “Notch” Persson in 2014. They bought the studio for a whopping $2.5 billion at the time. Now, Minecraft is still a thriving empire with a renewed subset of fans.
MS bought more studios in 2018, including Obsidian, inXile Entertainment, and Ninja Theory. Obsidian are the ones behind Fallout: New Vegas and now created Outer Worlds and Grounded. inXile Entertainment recently released Wasteland 3 as well.
By 2019, they got Double Fine Productions, with Psychonauts 2 on the way. Satya Nadella believes that interactive software is the key to the future.
“You can’t wake up one day and say, ‘Let me build a game studio,'” Nadella said right after their Zenimax acquisition. “The idea of having content is so we can reach larger communities.”
Zenimax acquisition cements MS Gaming position
The Zenimax acquisition sealed the fact that Microsoft is looking to buy more video game companies. At $7.5 billion, Zenimax is the price of three Mojangs. To scale, Disney acquired Marvel in 2009 for a mere $4 billion.
“Content is just the incredible ingredient to our platform that we continue to invest in,” said Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer in the same interview. “This doubles the size of our creative organization.”
The acquisition of Zenimax Media allowed MS to get eight studios under their umbrella. Chief among these studios are Bethesda Softworks, Arkane Studios, id Software, and Tango Gameworks.
Bethesda handles games like Fallout, Skyrim, and Starfield. Arkane is creating Deathloop, while id Software handles DOOM Eternal and helps MachineGames with Wolfenstein. Tango Gameworks made The Evil Within and will develop Ghostwire: Tokyo.
Microsoft is trying its best to fend off Sony and its exclusivity mantra. The only way they can keep them at bay is to get more titles under their umbrella. While it’s rarely good to have everything under one team, Nadella and Spencer keep the games market open.
Featured image courtesy of Microsoft/Youtube Screenshot