From Phil Spencer’s words, the acquisitions will continue until Microsoft gets a big enough piece of the pie…

In a recent interview with CNBC’s market-focused vertical, Squawk Asia, Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox under Microsoft, did not rule out future acquisitions of game studios, although the publisher is still working on finalising its $75 billion mammoth purchase of Activision Blizzard.

Asked whether the company would “remain acquisitive” or pause before future acquisitions, Spencer said:

“This is such a competitive market, I don’t think we get to press pause on anything.”

“Tencent is the largest gaming company on the planet today, and they continue to heavily invest in gaming content and game creators.”

Spencer continued, “Sony is a larger business than we are in gaming today, and they continue to invest. It’s a highly, highly competitive market.” The CEO concluded, “We strive to be a major player. We want to deliver great content for our players, and we’re going to remain active.”

It seems that we have entered a new paradigm of consolidation in the games industry, with companies such as Sony, Embracer Group, Tencent and Microsoft making one titanic acquisition after another in recent years.

Speaking further to Squawk, Spencer insisted that the company has no interest in acquiring Discord and noted that he is delighted with the somewhat collaborative relationship the two companies have had so far.

Spencer also expressed his willingness to see Microsoft make a move in the JRPG space.

The interview was conducted while Spencer was in Japan for the Tokyo Game Show. The executive noted that JRPGs remain the “home field” of Sony and Nintendo, while Microsoft has had a more challenging time succeeding in the Japanese market.

Spencer went on to say that he had held extensive meetings with Japanese developers focused on building working relationships and meeting their needs. The Xbox boss concluded the interview by saying that Microsoft is not currently planning to increase the price of Xbox consoles, following Sony’s recent announcement to increase the price of the PS5 in most of the world, excluding America.

Source: Twitter

$MSFT's @XboxP3 talks #Tencent, #JRPG's, and @discord – and explains why it's not time to follow $SONY's hike in prices. #Xbox #PlayStation pic.twitter.com/BCIY0wE8Gt

— Squawk Asia (@asiasquawkbox) September 16, 2022