Rumors have been circulating that the giant technology company, Microsoft, is looking to acquire video game developing companies Electronic Arts, PUBG Corp., and Valve — all of which are responsible for critically acclaimed titles that millions of players own and play on a regular basis. If the rumors are true, then this move could potentially bolster the capabilities of Microsoft's video games division extensively.
As reported by Polygon, Microsoft's gaming platform, the Xbox One, is suffering from a lack of exclusive games compared to that of its direct competitor, Sony's PlayStation 4. Even though the employees at Microsoft have denied releasing their exact title sales numbers, it is estimated that the PlayStation 4 sales outnumbers that of the Xbox One by 100 percent — which is a problem that needs to be addressed.
Fans of Microsoft's gaming platform still have many titles to look forward to this year, and in the future, but the discrepancy in sales may present major problems in terms of the division's future — especially since Sony is showing no signs of slowing down in creating and releasing their exclusive titles. These things may change due to the recent change in Microsoft leadership, with Phil Spencer appointed as the new executive vice president of gaming.
One way of solving this problem is by implementing radical changes within the division, and one of them is by aggressively trying to acquire high-profile video game developers that have a steady following and considerably large fan base. In fact, if the rumors are true, fans can expect a takeover to occur sooner than expected.
Most notably, considering the large number of concurrent that "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds" has, Microsoft would benefit largely from the title if they owned PUBG Corp. Additionally, Electronic Arts is a company that has been around for a very long time, providing numerous triple A titles for players.
An acquisition of this magnitude is something that Microsoft has done in the past, wherein they paid $2.5 billion to acquire the popular video game "Minecraft."
