Microsoft Acquiring EA Would Boost Game Pass Significantly: No Xbox Exclusivity

Not too long ago, reports on the web claim Microsoft was interested in acquiring the likes of Electronic Arts (EA), and possibly Valve, and PUBG Corp, the makers of PLAYERUNKNOWN’s Battlegrounds.

[maybelovehate]

It really would. But I still don't think it will happen. MS still has a nice library but adding EA games would be huge. Especially with the licensing for all those sports titles. But yeah, not going to happen.

[SuperSonic91]

Microsoftacquairing one of the worst and most hated company in America?????

[indyman7777]

I say if they acquire EA and make thier games part of game pass. They will have a tier,

tier 1(bronze) $10 will include Microsoft games,
tier 2 (silver) $20 will include EA and microsoft games,
tier 3(GOLD) $30 will include Microsoft games..EA games...and other publishers games

[mark_parch]

nobody's going to pay $30 a month, especially on top of xbox live gold. They should just keep it at $10 at that low price nearly every xbox owner would sign up

[XiNatsuDragnel]

No way like Erza getting Jellal

[PhoenixUp]

It’s really appalling that people are discussing the idea of Microsoft making ludicrous purchases of a major publisher and a major distributer.

For that amount of money Microsoft could purchase a lot of developers.

[PhoenixUp]

Then it should be Microsoft’s job to make sure they turn into lucrative properties. You didn’t see Nintendo, Sega, or Sony purchasing major publishers when they were creating their first party portfolio. For some reason it’s a difficult task for Microsoft and it shouldn’t be overlooked. They need to manage the ones they have better and get more developers under their umbrella to make new flagship franchises for them. You telling me a company that is soon on the path to be worth a trillion dollars can’t assemble a bunch of quality development teams for themselves like their competition?

Microsoft potentially buying EA isn’t comparable with Disney buying Fox. With all of Fox’s properties consumers will still be able to access all of them the same way they used to. If Microsoft were to buy EA then millions of PlayStation, Nintendo, & mobile users would be left out of EA’s future content. To enjoy EA content you’d specifically have to have an Xbox or PC. EA themselves would’ve lost out on the immense revenue stream they’ve enjoyed over the years by going exclusive, so it’s even more unlikely they’d even sell.

There’s nothing that Microsoft can offer that EA can’t make eventually on its own in the future continuing to exist as a multiplatform publisher, not to mention its one of the top publishers in the world meaning they aren’t hurting for cash.

These rumors hold no water. Microsoft even offered Nintendo $25 billion in 1999 to work under them but Yamauchi declined. Ubisoft themselves are working hard to stave off Vivendi purchasing them. Just goes to show successful companies are not going to sell when they know there’s better investment remaining independent.

[Brian7655492]

Since when is Sony or Nintendo or Microsoft our friends? The Sega Dreamcast didn't even get any EA games. Where is Street Fighter on the Xbox or Switch? We have had generations of deals to hold content from going to other platforms.

The PS4 is just too profitable to simply ignore so It would be foolish for Microsoft to spend this amount of money and then block games on the PS4. So i don't believe these rumors but if they did maybe business would carry on but Gamepass would then be much bigger.

[PhoenixUp]

Who said they were our friends? Of course Dreamcast didn’t get EA support because of how Saturn launched in the West. But how does any of that describe how each company’s first party support has been maintained?

You’re talking about a deal for exclusive individual games, which is completely different from outright buying major publishers so idk why you’d even compare the situations.

[Doughhead]

well freaking said. It would be cheaper to purchase a developer studio and go from there.

[DivineAssault]

Why not hire good people and create a new team?

[Prince_TFK]

How does that even guarantee success? You think just by gathering good people will automatically make the studio a sucess? Why don’t you look at 343 Industries then?

Also, how long it will take? Starting up a company and hiring staff doesn’t happen overnight as you think. Not to mention preparing necessary equipment as well as finding location for the office and other complicated processes involved. By the time everything settled it would have taken so many years before they could even release a game.

With MS in the position that they are in now, I don’t think they would want to waste any more time.

[rainslacker]

How does buying EA, Valve, or PUBG gaurantee success?

Any purchase is a risk, and whether purchasing any of the above would be successful seems to have a lot of hypothetical scenarios attached on what would happen should MS purchase it, followed by a lot of speculation on if they will, or why it would even be beneficial.

To date, I haven't actually seen anyone give a reason why it would make sense to buy any of these companies, except maybe PUBG, but PUBG is just a developer with a successful product, while the rest are major publishers or platforms whose purchase leaves a big maybe and if attached to it depending on MS intended purpose for buying it. Like in this article, which assumes that buying EA would be to boost Game Pass, which would have to have a huge subscriber base to ever make up for what they spend on EA.

On the matter of time....I can say that MS would see a return on investment a hell of a lot faster by making new games before they'd ever see a return on a multi-billion dollar investment in any of the companies listed here....except maybe PUBG, which is still kind of new and could go out of style any day. On top of that, investing in new things means that they'll actually achieve more than trying to ride off the success of others, because there is nothing to indicate that MS could handle the success of others, and make it their own success.

[DivineAssault]

nothing is guaranteed.. Buying a publishing company for their IPs will gain them something but theyre going to need NEW games as well.. Them creating a great 1st party studio would be a safer bet imo.. Look what happened when they acquired rare..

[giovonni]

Because it takes too much time and money. Maybe you’ll see it this way. You Divine are a large video game Corp. who can spend 13 billion to assemble a team to create studios. Would you take that money to create it from scratch, or would you go out and buy an already assembled, company who already has games in development, and blockbuster games that draw in large profits ever year?

[rainslacker]

You can create studios, and fund projects for much less than 13 billion. For around 500 million, you can make and market 5 high profile AAA games, and start seeing a return in less than 5 years time if only one of them is successful.

To make back 13 billion dollars would take much longer. EA profit surged last year to about 3 billion dollars. That's 4 years to return a profit, where they still have to keep investing more money to actually make that profit, so it ends up being more than 13 billion.

It just makes more sense for MS to create or buy studios, or buy out some studios that is already successful, over buying out a major publisher. MS has all it needs to do such a thing, they just have to do it, and they don't need to jump start it by buying out someone like EA. Buying EA would take the same amount of time or longer to see a positive return, and really gains them nothing but a large publishing company with a lot of assets which they would then have to manage, as opposed to just building on what they already have.

[maybelovehate]

Because they need to add existing games to Game Pass. It is about having a bigger library as well as new games.

[yomfweeee]

I find it funny that a bunch of you think MS is going to spend $40+ billion up front and then a billion plus annually to make these games and they are all great on to be included in GamePass for $10.

Do you all have any brains?

[TheColbertinator]

No. Go away.

[greywolf39]

Microsoft needs to make Exclusive that are EXCLUSIVES. So you can play them only on one platform

[PurplePeopleEaters]

If MS buys EA, it will solidify that MS can't invest in its own creativity, it needs to purchase it from other publishers.

[rainslacker]

Purchase creativity from EA? That's just showing they don't actually recognize where the creativity is.

[masterfox]

I wouldn't be surprise if MS turns out to be a full gaming service instead of a console competitor.

[cellfluid]

You guys really think ea is gonna sell its corporation to Microsoft?? Lolololol you guys must be dreaming