Microsoft is still in the market for acquisitions despite having splashed out $69 billion for Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard just last year.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Microsoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer said he’s up for buying more companies, although cautioned that nothing’s “imminent” and big deals are off the table for now.
So, if Microsoft does open its wallet once again, what might it spend its billions on? Deals that add “geographic diversity,” including in Asia, might be worthwhile, Spencer said.
Apparently Microsoft’s eyeing up buying another mobile company (Microsoft picked up Candy Crush maker King as part of the Activision Blizzard acquisition).
“We definitely want to be in the market, and when we can find teams and technology and capability that add to what we’re trying to do in gaming at Microsoft, absolutely we will keep our heads up,” Spencer said.
Microsoft is still busy absorbing Activision Blizzard employees, Spencer added, which is why very large deals are probably impossible right now. But that leaves the door open for major acquisitions in the future.
Spencer and co. will probably find future acquisitions easier to get over the line after Donald Trump becomes U.S. president in January. Microsoft faced a tough battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the Activision Blizzard deal — a battle it ultimately won. Wall Street is said to be foaming at the mouth with all the possible mergers and acquisitions that may now go through with Trump as president.
The focus, it seems, is fleshing out its mobile offering ahead of launching an app store of its own. But Microsoft’s App Store and Google Play rival has suffered a number of delays, with staff still trying to figure out a plan. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft still doesn’t have an effective way to get its own store on mobile phones, delaying the launch further.
Microsoft’s gaming aquisition ambitions continue despite cutting an eye-watering 2,550 staff just this year alone, with Xbox mobile game development teams recently hit hard.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.