As part of a larger GamesIndustry interview centered on the recently acquired Xbox Game Studios, Microsoft Head of Gaming Phil Spencer openly stated that there's been no signal at all from the company's leadership (such as CEO Natya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood) to slow down the studio acquisitions.
We acquired quite a few new studios in a short amount of time, and we want to make sure that those studios are on-boarded in the right way. As Matt and I were talking about it, we just wanted to make sure that we treated the incoming studios as full parts of the organisation. That they felt supported.
The Game Pass portfolio and subscriber base continues to grow. We're launching a new console. Last year was our biggest year ever on PC in terms of revenue as Xbox Game Studios. A lot of the business is doing really well, so we're always in the market for new opportunities with studios.
The first priority was making sure the studios had the things that they needed to build the best versions of their games. That means extending some of the timelines, and giving them more budgets. We have really strong support from Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, and Amy Hood, the CFO. And there's been no signal at all that we should be slowing down, but just to go at a pace that is maintainable for us as a leadership team. We're always out there talking to people. But it has to be the right opportunity.
This statement is bound to reignite the recent rumors of Microsoft looking into a bid for Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, reportedly for sale from parent company AT&T. Other potential buyers include major publishers such as Take-Two, Electronic Arts, and Activision, and the deal is estimated to be around $4 billion worth.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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