Acquisition Ambitions: Phil Spencer expresses interest in acquiring mobile game studios, ensuring Xbox portable gaming dominance for years to come.

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming, discussed the future business plans that are currently underway.

One intriguing point raised was the interest in acquiring additional game studios, particularly mobile game studios. This aligns with Microsoft’s previous announcement of their intentions. However, large deals are currently challenging due to the time required for the integration of Activision Blizzard employees into Microsoft’s culture.

Another focus is on penetrating the Chinese market further, exemplified by the collaboration on Age of Empires Mobile with Tencent. Spencer sees this as a great opportunity to collaborate with the Chinese development team and expand into the global market.

Regarding mobile gaming devices, Spencer acknowledged the anticipation surrounding Microsoft’s initiatives but emphasized that these projects will take several more years to come to fruition.

In the short term, Microsoft’s team will enhance the Xbox app for PC portable gaming devices, aiming for better market performance. Spencer admitted that the current status of the app on portable devices is good, but not yet great.

Plans to launch a mobile game store have been postponed as further market research is needed. Microsoft is exploring ways to simplify user access to the store on the web.

Spencer expressed satisfaction with the performance of Xbox games against competitors like PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. He hinted at the release of more games but did not specify which ones are in development.

The future of the gaming market lies in expanding to new players, new devices, and new access methods. However, Spencer does not believe that the gaming market will grow by introducing expensive consoles priced at $1,000.

Source: Bloomberg

TLDR:
Phil Spencer discusses Microsoft Gaming’s future plans, including acquiring mobile game studios, entering the Chinese market, and improving Xbox app accessibility on portable devices. Plans for a mobile game store launch are on hold, and the focus is on expanding to new players and devices while avoiding expensive console releases.