Microsoft May Announce Acquisition of Five Devteams Today
Intriguing rumors have surfaced online, suggesting that Microsoft will announce the acquisition of more development studios at its conference tonight. Among the candidates to be bought out are Avalanche, IO Interactive, Crytek, NetherRealm, and Rocksteady.
- Avalanche Software (Hogwarts Legacy)
- IO Interactive (Hitman series, Project 007)
- Crytek (Crysis series, Hunt: Showdown)
- NetherRealm (Injustice and Mortal Kombat series)
- Rocksteady (Batman: Arkham, Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League)
Tonight is Microsoft's conference. It promises to be one of the most important presentations at this year's E3, and the atmosphere is further heated up by rumors. The latest of them suggest that the corporation may announce the acquisition of up to five development studios.
The speculation was sparked by Colt Eastwood, a YouTuber and one of the hosts of the popular XNC podcast focusing on the Xbox brand. On Twitter, he wrote "26 is the new 23". Microsoft currently owns 23 development studios, so people understood the post as an announcement of more acquisitions. Some time later, Eastwood added that 28 is even better, suggesting that in total the corporation is preparing to buy out five developers.
These reports are interesting, but we would not believe them if their only source was the aforementioned YouTuber. In this case, the atmosphere was turned up by journalist Jeff Grubb. In the latest episode of the GamerBeat program, he stated that he's heard rumors from various sources about further acquisitions by Microsoft. He noted that he has not received any definitive confirmation, but revealed that behind-the-scenes talks mention Avalanche Software, IO Interactive, Crytek, NetherRealm and Rocksteady.
What's interesting, Grubb claims to know, from a well-informed source, that as recently as two weeks ago Microsoft had no plans to announce any developer studio acquisitions at E3 2021, so if that's the case then the buyout deals had to be finalized just before the show.
All of these reports are interesting but vague. It's hard to judge what Microsoft will actually announce during the conference, but the rumors definitely turn up the atmosphere before the event.
Lastly, Avalanche, NetherRealm, and Rocksteady are all owned by Warner Bros. It was announced a month ago that it would be merging with Discovery Group next year. We know that the new entity will retain some of WB Games' teams, while others will most likely be sold. Getting rid of these three developers would be odd, as much of their value comes from access to Warner's multimedia franchises like DC, Harry Potter and Mortal Kombat. Of course, Microsoft could simply buy the licenses to use them as well.
