People on ResetEra are saying that Jeff from GiantBomb is hearing rumors about them possibly being in negotiations to buy a "Big" Studio. I'm trying to find a quote or link

Capy is being rumored... meh Below is taking literally an Entire Generation to come out I don't want them as 1st party.

Jeff said that when he interviewd Phil. He asked him if we're going to see more studios because there are rumors of another large acquisition.

Edit: Nevermind

Codemaster is a fantastic developer who's struggling to find a hit lately. They would be too expensive for a third Forza games as they failed to release anything non-racing.

They'd be perfect for Sony to give them their Forza Horizon.

When Evolution studios (driveclub, motorstorm) closed in 2016,  the entire team joined Codemasters. Now I doubt those devs will want to be bought by sony, only to be closed once again if they deliver even one misstep.

The Moon Studios dev went on ResetEra and said that they want to remain independent not to mention that it would be hard since I think that they are spread out and not in one place. MS should go hard on giving them a Second Party Contract with creative freedom on games.

Obsidian and Larian would both probably be on the top of the list especially since MS also wants to focus on making PC games, it doesn't get any better than them tbh.

Playful would be a waste as well, MS should lock them in a 2nd party contract too.

I had no Idea that Piranha Bytes were that small. Them, Spider, and Deck13 all great and cheap acquisitions and currently have a staff of 50 or less.

Out of the three would rank them like this.

1. Deck13: the best of the studios, Lords of the Fallen was rated well and then went on to create The Surge that reviewed even better and is now getting a sequel. Their games have the best production and polish of the three.

2. Spiders: Now on their 3rd new IP this gen, all their games have potential but they are just limited by their size and small budgets. Hope that GreedFall gives em a chance to breakout.

3. Piranha Bytes: The smallest of three but also the most famous, Creators of the famous or infamous Gothic and Risen games. I would consider their games the worst when it comes to production values and polish, but still the potential is there.

I doubt that MS would need more than two but if I were to choose em it would be Deck13 and Spiders(I would switch Dontnod for Spiders but they would be more hassle to buy), they can also be really good test subjects for the SlipSpace Engine.

Sega and Capcom are not worth 5 billion, 3.5-4.5 max. Also not to mention that I doubt that they would want to take on that many employees all at once. The most expensive studio out of the 4 was Playground and I doubt that they cost more than 200-300 million, Respawn sold for 500 million to EA because they were selling high and there were also probably a bidding war between them and Tencent.

People need to realize that there are not many Japanes devs that MS could buy because most already have a parent company. There are only 4 that are even worth looking at when it comes to AAA development.

Ranked from best to last

1. PlatinumGames: IP factory with multiple teams, proven time and time again and is without a doubt one of the top devs in all of Japan.

2. Cyberconnect2: I would say the second best on this list based on their games and track record, Mostly known for their very successful Naruto Ninja Storm series and Asura's Wrath. They are the biggest studio on this list and have 3 teams The main one in Fukouka Japan, the second in Tokyo and a third that they opened in 2016 in Montreal Canada.

3. Level-5: Studio known as the creators of the very successful Professor Layton series and the Ni No Kuni games, I very much doubt that they would give MS the time of day since they pretty much hate them for cancelling their MMO-RPG for the OG Xbox, they have never made a game for MS since.

4. Acess Games: Known for Deadly Premonition, D4, and their biggest project being Drakenguard 3. The weakest on the list especially since their biggest creative mind Swery has left them. They also don't have a very good track record for AAA development.