Rumour: Microsoft could be looking to acquire EA, Valve, PUBG Corp.

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According to Polygon, "a reliable source close to Microsoft" claims they could be hoping to strengthen the Xbox brand by purchasing some big names.

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by Chris Brand

@pass_controller

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EA (Battlefield, Star Wars Battlefront, EA Sports) was probably the most noteworthy of the bunch, though Valve (Half-Life, Portal, Left 4 Dead) and PUBG Corp. (PlayerUnknowns BattleGrounds) were also mentioned. One of the analysts Polygon spoke to, SuperData Research CEO, Joost van Dreunen, believes an announcement could be just around the corner, stating:

"Because of where we are in the lifecycle of all these things, I’m expecting to hear Microsoft announce something very, very shortly."

Xbox exclusives are light on the ground at the minute; Sea of Thieves, Crackdown 3 and State of Decay 2 are the only ones confirmed for 2018. There were recent rumours of a new Fable title being developed, and we can no doubt expect more Forza, Halo and Gears of War, but the list of concrete titles pales in comparison to Sony and Nintendo’s offerings at this stage.

​Given their title's recent Xbox One launch, PUBG Corp. would seem like a sensible option and we know Microsoft aren't opposed to spending the big bucks after they acquired Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion a few years back.

It's fair to say they would have to dig a little deeper for EA but that investment would come with a wealth of talent from in house studios like Bioware, DICE and Respawn Entertainment, not to mention a host of IPs.

As for that other company you may have heard of, Valve are not only known for making some of the most well received games of all time but also their digital distribution platform, Steam, is hugely popular with over 150 million registered accounts to date. Plus, announcing the illusive Half-Life 3 as an Xbox exclusive would certainly help shift units.

There are, of course, plenty of other options if Microsoft really are looking to spend.

We'll be sure to let you know if this rumour turns into anything more substantial.

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