Is Xbox Buying Sega?

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Following the purchase of Bethesda, there have been a number of rumors regarding whether or not Xbox might purchase other publishers, as well. The most prominent of these rumors has pointed to Sega. It's clear that Microsoft has been looking for ways to expand Xbox's first-party offerings, and Sega's name has recently been added to the mix, for one reason or another. The rumor has become so prominent that Xbox even chimed in on the speculation with a reply Tweet following the company's plans for Tokyo Game Show. Without naming any names, Xbox mentioned that no news of additional acquisitions will be revealed.

…and btw, there won’t be any new acquisition news at the show ⛔
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 23, 2020

It's hard to put a lot of stock into the rumor; it probably wouldn't make a whole lot of sense for Sega, as the company has made a considerable effort over the last two decades transforming itself into a third-party publisher. Following the success of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie, the mascot's brand is arguably the strongest it has been since he made his debut. With Sonic's 30th anniversary around the corner, it seems hard to believe that Sega would want to go back to making the character's games exclusive to one console.

A purchase of Sega could help the Xbox in Japan, where the company has historically struggled. However, it would also cost Microsoft a pretty penny, and this is a company that just spent $7.5 billion. While Microsoft won't rule out additional acquisitions, it seems highly unlikely that they'll be making any more gigantic purchases in the immediate future.

For now, Sega fans can likely rest easy regarding any kind of purchase. There doesn't seem to be any real sourcing to the rumor, and it seems more like speculation on the part of gamers. Besides that, the ZeniMax purchase was kept very quiet, so it seems that, if there were an impending purchase of Sega, there wouldn't be this kind of internet chatter. That said, acquisitions such as these are not uncommon throughout the industry. In 2019, Sony reportedly spent $229 million purchasing Insomniac Games. Insomniac has two games set to release during the PS5 release window, so the purchase clearly paid off! With the next console generation just around the corner, both Sony and Microsoft will look for new ways to bolster the number of exclusive games they have to offer. Whether that will take the form of more acquisitions remains to be seen.