If Microsoft starts buying publishers, what company would be the most likely?

With Microsoft on a shopping spree and using their money chest to buy studios at an aggressive rate and an CEO that believes that gaming is the next battleground for Cloud companies, this could mean that MS may be shopping for bigger companies if it wanted to and wanted to keep up with content for Game Pass and xCloud. Which leads to publishers, Microsoft never really dismissed buying publishers, so it's possible that they may buy a publisher down the line.

So my question if Microsoft wanted to buy a publisher, who would it be?

I think the most likely IMO, would be Bethesda, both companies are very close, so in my opinion it's very possible that Bethesda could be bought, or possibly the whole ZeniMax Media company.

People may say that MS will never have exclusives to one platform. However they don't need to, they simply put games onto Game Pass whereas users on PS4 will likely have to pay full price.

Every 3 or 4 months lemmings start dreaming on MS buying all the big gaming companies. Months ago it was EA and Valve so why change now, let's say in lemmingland MS buys EA and Valve lol.

For someone that only joined back in July how would you know this?

No one said that it was Microsoft buying EA or Valve. It was only a thought and not a real deal going through. But it's clear you aren't intellectually capable to have a reasonable discussion.

MS won't buy they would just allow game pass exclusive content.

That's not how it works, why would third parties want to put their games onto Game Pass, PS Now etc? It will be a loss in revenue and profit generated and they will always remove it from the service and try to establish their own service. The reason why Netflix is big today is because they had exclusive content and aggressively invested in their original content. Microsoft is doing the same thing, they are aggressively investing in their 1P lineup for Game Pass.

Liar. https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/01/29/rumor-suggests-microsoft-has-considered-acquiring-ea-valve-pubg-corp

Because believe it or not the internet is bigger than this place and lemmings infect everywhere with their delusions.

It was generated by an opinion article from Polygon, if you wanted more reliable rumours for buying of companies, WSJ, Bloomberg, Reuters and CNBC are much more reliable.

Still around the internet many lemmings jumped on the rumor bandwagon. They have wet dreams on MS buying everything and ruling in an absolute monopoly. That's how little they care about gaming.

@boycie: Good question.

*cough* alt *cough*

It's very clear you're very twisted. No one thought it was realistic, because it was a small quote from Polygon opinion piece. If you truly cared about gaming then you shouldn't say that MS should get out of the console market. The brutal reality is that Microsoft is aggressively investing in gaming. It's the next Cloud market after all. So don't be surprised if Google, Amazon and Microsoft buy up gaming companies.

It's Sony's job to adapt to a changing gaming market that will likely increasingly move away from traditional consoles.

Cute, I thought I was supposed to be recloud and Quadknight, oh well... if you lemmings spent thinking the time you spend in paranoid delusions maybe you'd start writing less nonsense.

You're a huge hypocrite. It took me two minutes to find a SW post from this news back then and there's not only many taking it seriously but this is what you wrote on your first post. So it's true that you live in a delusional lemming world. https://www.gamespot.com/forums/system-wars-314159282/polygon-microsoft-is-looking-into-acquiring-electr-33423714/. If you're going to lie at least be smarter.

Oh no, MS released its beta cortana clone here too.

That's some weak BS, we all know you're a ban dodging alt.

@i_p_daily: Anyone figured out who he is? Quack?

My money would be on elitegamer as being quackers.

So right now MS is acquiring low-key studios on the brink and devs who were already on their payroll, and now you think they're going to buy out a major publisher? I can't imagine spending billions making a move for an unproven business model? MS gave away Game Pass for mere pennies and still didn't get high results for Forza Horizon 4. What major publisher would trade independence to get on board with something so shaky like a Netflix model for gaming?

We still don't know how these games are going to turn out from the devs they ARE picking up.

Yeah I think it's unlikely as well. Remember how hard UBIsoft fought to keep there independence when Vivendi tried to swoop in.

It's cool to talk about gaming rumours, I don't know why some people take it so seriously. I don't think MS will be doing any big acquisition right now, they are building up Gamepass no point on taking such a big risk. Now, if that business model grows in a few years we might see some big moves if not only just to kill direct competitors.

Like I say. Done with the help of $2 Game Pass giveaways. Most publishers would rather start their own gaming service than fall in with MS where their games will be given away for pennies while they slave for them. I say it's a big fat chance, unless the pub is getting close to the brink of closure.

Yeah I think quack is deletegaming247, that SC thread pretty much confirms it, must be killing him not to use that Xbox hat meme lol.

Wait quack was an alt, what a douche lol.

The Xbox division has some cash to burn to experiment with business models like Game Pass where they can give away their brand new first party games for a ten dollar rental. That doesn't mean every one else industry wide wants to jump on their bandwagon.

I see the lemming detective brigade came out in full force. I guess they have to entertain themselves with something...

That's sad, but not surprising with him. Maybe GS needs more mods to ban these guys whenever they pop up.

I'm at work. It's a pretty boring day so just going between this and Three's on my iPhone.

I hope they buy Activision

Then close it.

If Phony and Nintendont were smart they'd be begging MS to buy them now, before the other two big boys, Google and Amazon, get in the game because after that, those two small fries are both toast. lol :P

People acting like Xbox fans in their cave dreaming of Valve and EA, when that was a report from media...Always making it sound like Xbox fans are desperate, when we're no better than Nintendo fans who clamor when rumors speak of something awesome.

MS is only after good studios who need MS to go to that next level, so I would imagine they'd go after real talent, like Armature, Moon Studios, IO Interactive, or maybe up and comers like Warhorse or MDHR.

Just buy whole sega. They get good IP and, some japanese devs. Pretty sure even sony and nintendo can afford sega sammy.

From Software.

I love it when someone gets called an alt for briinging up the XBox fanboy fever dream since 2003.

No one gives a shit about Microsoft’s stupid game pass cloud x bullshit

Gamepass is awesome

cloud x isn't even out yet.

Maybe because they are alts. Why would you cry about alts getting called out? Is it the cow oops I meant lem or no I mean cow in you getting butthurt again?

Is this literally the "I drink because you cry" defense?

Calling it like a I see it cowgenja. You're literally in here crying for alts getting called out for being alts........just in case you didn't know, the corner is -----> way

When was the last time Valve published a game?

Actually I know, probably Dota 2 in 2013.

@BenjaminBanklin: results : https://www.notebookcheck.net/Forza-Horizon-4-hits-2-million-players.337940.0.html

Game pass is pretty dope +1

I don't even own an Xbox of any kind.

Lmao... can you imagine him sitting at his desk.