The trial between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission over the acquisition of Activision Blizzard has taken an interesting turn. Recently, an email leak amidst this drama revealed Xbox CEO Phil Spenser’s interest in buying other gaming giants like Valve and Nintendo.
Microsoft surprised the gaming industry when it acquired Bethesda Softworks. This game studio is known for creating successful game franchises like The Elder Scroll and Doom. They are also the creators of the newly released action role-playing game Starfield.
After the acquisition of Bethesda, the American giants dropped another bomb by announcing their plans to buy Activision Blizzard. However, the buyout is currently on hold because of the intervention of FTC. Recently, this case has revealed some exciting plans that Phil Spenser had for Xbox.
Phil Spenser wanted to acquire Nintendo and other big names
Among the trial documents between FTC and Microsoft, that were recently made public, was an email from 2020 between the Xbox CEO Phil Spenser, the Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela, and the Commercial Chief Marketing Officer Takeshi Numoto.
Phil Spencer in 2020 was looking to buy:
✅ Warner Bros. Interactive
✅ Bethesda
✅ Nintendo
✅ ValveTrying to buy half the industry! What a wild email
Source: https://t.co/8DAucRw8el pic.twitter.com/McJRjz8oHo
— Hunter (@NextGenPlayer) September 19, 2023
In this three-year-old email, these top Xbox officials discussed acquiring the Japanese gaming giant, Nintendo. However, Spenser talks about Nintendo being not interested in selling itself. Moreover, he also mentioned playing the long game and waiting for the correct opportunity.
The Xbox CEO didn’t only discuss acquiring Nintendo, as he also mentioned his interest in Valve, Warner Bros. Interactive, and Bethesda. However, Microsoft failed to buy any of them except for Bethesda, which they acquired when they bought ZeniMax, for $7.5 billion.
Undoubtedly, these were some big moves that Phil Spenser and his associates were planning. If any of them came true, it could have had a huge impact on the gaming industry. But for now, the biggest win for Microsoft would be the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Bethesda was planning on remastering Oblivion and Fallout 3
Aside from the emails, another leaked document revealed all the upcoming Xbox and Bethesda projects released between the fiscal year 2022 and 2024. However, the release of titles like the Indiana Jones game and Starfield didn’t align with the plans.
According to this document:
– The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remaster is likely already done (or being turned into a remake / delayed for strategic reasons)
– Dishonored 3 is on the way
– Indiana Jones isn’t far from release
– Fallout Shelter Online is a thing
– Fallout 3… pic.twitter.com/6hrnQAR4NL
— Game Pass Tracker on (@gamepasstracker) September 19, 2023
But what caught everyone’s attention was Xbox and Bethesda’s plan to remaster two of their most famous titles, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and Fallout 3. The former remaster was supposed to be released in 2022, but there were no words about the Oblivion Remaster besides this latest leak. As for the Fallout 3 Remaster, it should be released in 2024. So fans can still look out for it next year.
Although these documents are about three years old, it was a significant leak for Microsoft and Bethesda. It can have some consequences for their future plans. If you want to know about such gaming leaks, click here to find out everything about the upcoming Marvel’s Wolverine.
