Rumors are circulating that Microsoft is buying Sega, the legendary developer behind the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Following the Xbox manufacturer’s staggering $7.5 billion purchase of Bethesda holding company ZeniMax Media, Microsoft has hinted that more acquisitions are on their way — but does this include the company behind the blue blur?
Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda has caused many to theorize which company is next-in-line. As such, recent announcements from both Microsoft and Sega have been perceived as subtle hints that the Japanese company will soon join Xbox’s lineup of studios.
Is Xbox buying Sega?
Neither Microsoft nor Sega have specifically commented on the rumors, which have mostly stemmed from two recent announcements from both companies. First, Sega posted a tweet regarding its work ahead of the Tokyo Game Show 2020, in which an employee is shown leaning across her desk with her arms held in an ‘X’ shape. Next, Xbox revealed its new ‘Shock Blue’ controller, which some believe to be similar to the coloring of Sega’s famous logo.
Errr why is the new controller the exact Sega blue? #xbox #XboxSeriesX @SEGA pic.twitter.com/3yxumhDetD
— アレツクス (@waifu_enjoyer) September 22, 2020
bringing a report from the land of gamers. a select few are convinced that microsoft is buying sega next and it's lead to a resurgence of my absolute favourite kind of post pic.twitter.com/ng6WUmVMSN
— yuuko from nichijou (@headfallsoff) September 22, 2020
For its part, Microsoft has stated that it’s actively keeping an eye out to purchase new companies for the Xbox brand. “We’ll always look for places where there is that commonality of purpose, mission, and culture,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNET. “We will always look to grow inorganically where it makes sense.”
However, Microsoft hasn’t stated that it’s looking to purchase another company in the near future, and hasn’t offered any names in regards to the publishers and developers on its radar. The official Xbox account noted that there wouldn’t be any new acquisition news at TGS 2020, so for those drawing parallels between Sega’s tweet and the show, it seems that this speculation will remain unfounded.
…and btw, there won’t be any new acquisition news at the show ⛔
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 23, 2020
Microsoft is set to kick-off Tokyo Game Show 2020’s opening night on September 24 with a celebration of Japanese game creators and games, though has noted that no next-gen news pertaining to the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S will feature during the show.
(H/T Nintendo Life)
