Microsoft has been considering adding Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix to the Xbox Game Studios family, a new evidence hearing between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revealed. revealed in an internal document.
According to this new document from 2019, which was presented as evidence as part of the hearing, Microsoft gives several reasons why it should buy Square Enix. This includes strengthening Xbox’s presence in Asian markets and providing access to Square Enix’s game portfolio, including Kingdom Hearts, Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. These franchises will “drive adoption” of Xbox Game Pass and Project Scarlett (one of the previous codenames for the 4th generation Xbox console), Microsoft said.
More interestingly, the document reveals that another reason why Xbox should buy Square Enix would have been the “growth of the mobile segment” for Xbox. Microsoft said that acquiring Square Enix would help it “offer mobile-only game passes in the future.” Game Pass is now available on Xbox and PC, and games can be played on mobile via the cloud. While Microsoft’s presence on mobile is minimal, Square Enix has what Xbox described as a “robust mobile native portfolio.”
It’s unclear how much interest Microsoft had in Square Enix. The document reveals a “Strategic Approval” plan, but it’s unclear how far it climbed Microsoft’s chain, or if Square had any contact with Enix or any response. be. But given recent high-profile Square Enix releases such as Final Fantasy 7 Remake and Final Fantasy 16, which are PlayStation exclusives, this could be the case.
Square Enix isn’t the only major publisher Microsoft is considering buying. Another internal document from Xbox revealed that Xbox is also looking at Sega, IO Interactive, and Bungie among others to fill content gaps.
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Taylor is a reporter for IGN. You can follow her on her Twitter @TayNixster.
