A few months ago, leaked documents from the court hearings against the FTC revealed that Microsoft was interested in acquiring Sega back in 2020, but this doesn’t mean that the Japanese publisher and developer is willing to be acquired.
Chief Operating Officer Shuji Utsumi dismissed the possibility of an acquisition while speaking with CNBC, explaining that Microsoft isn’t the only company interested in acquiring Sega, but he doesn’t believe that kind of acquisition will happen.
Many companies are interested. We feel honored, we have attractive IPs and potentials. Companies owned by the owner. A strong owner. I don’t think that kind of transaction is going to happen.
You may be wondering whether the “I don’t think” part of Utsumi-san’s statement leaves open the possibility, but that’s simply a rather standard expression Japanese executives and developers use when expressing an opinion about something that isn’t ultimately their decision. It’s a formality that’s pretty much integrated in the language.
As a matter of fact, the wording appears to indicate that Utsumi-san doesn’t believe in the possibility of Sega being acquired by anyone.
This “acquisition fever” among video game fans has been going on for quite a while, with many basically trying to will this or that acquisition by this or that console manufacture into existence, especially following Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda and Activision Blizzard and Sony’s acquisition of Bungie.
On the other hand, many gamers have been rather wary of further consolidation in the gaming industry, fearing a drift into less multiplatform and more exclusive titles.
Luckily for them, the perspective of Sega’s acquisition is likely a thing of the past, from before Microsoft set its sight on Bethesda and Activision. With the acquisition of the latter still under the lens of regulators, another big one seems downright improbable.
Sega has rather solid independent plans for the future, including the development of “Super Games” capable of storming the global market by storm on top of reviving some of its old and beloved IPs.
