Microsoft is always there search for acquisitionsalthough the company paid $69 billion for Call of Duty developer Activision Blizzard last year.
In an interview given to BloombergMicrosoft Gaming boss Phil Spencer said he was open to buying other companies, but said nothing was “imminent” and big deals weren’t on the agenda. For now.
So, if Microsoft opens its wallet again, what could it spend its billions on? Transactions that add “geographic diversity”, including in Asia, could be attractive, according to Mr Spencer.
Apparently, Microsoft plans to buy another cell phone company (Microsoft bought Candy Crush maker King as part of its acquisition of Activision Blizzard).
“We absolutely want to be present in the market, and if we find teams, technologies and capabilities that fit what we are trying to do in the gaming space at Microsoft, we will monitor that closely,” explained Mr. Spencer.
Microsoft is still busy amortizing Activision Blizzard employees, Spencer added, which explains why very large contracts are probably impossible at the moment. But that leaves the door open for major acquisitions in the future.
Spencer and others will likely have an easier time pushing through future acquisitions after Donald Trump is elected president of the United States in January. Microsoft had to lead a tough battle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over the deal with Activision Blizzard, a battle it ultimately won. It is said that Wall Street can’t wait to see all the mergers and acquisitions that could take place with Trump becoming president.
It seems that the objective is to expand its mobile offering before launching its own application store. But Microsoft’s rival to the App Store and Google Play has suffered a number of delayswith the staff still trying to come up with a strategy. According to Bloomberg, Microsoft still doesn’t have an effective way to bring its own store to mobile phones, further delaying the launch.
Microsoft’s game acquisition ambitions continue despite cutting a staggering 2,550 positions this year alone, with Xbox mobile game development teams recently taking a major hit.
Wesley is an IGN UK news editor.
