The future of video games lies in the purchase of franchises. And it seems that Microsoft is very interested in taking over the Valve studio.
Microsoft has dropped the bomb and now it’s Valve’s turn. Xbox’s parent company has recently invested a lot of money in acquiring Bethesda and Activision Blizzard. However, his ambitions do not end there. Many gamers already know about Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s desire to acquire video game giant Nintendo. However, the executive had also talked about the possibility of acquiring the Steam operator. A business move that would greatly shake up the industry.
Right now, Microsoft is currently facing a legal battle with US regulators attempting to block the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard.. Multiple legal documents have been leaked to the media, including one that revealed Phil Spencer’s suggestion that the company could buy Nintendo. However, the latest leak included an email from Phil Spencer from 2020 in which he hinted that the company had looked into acquiring Valve.
The digital control of the company will be almost absolute
Xbox
It’s clear from the email that Xbox’s parent company sees Nintendo as the more valuable option. Unfortunately, Nintendo’s good financial situation makes both a voluntary merger and a hostile takeover unfeasible in the short term. However, The last line of the email also suggests that Microsoft has seriously considered acquiring Valve. “They are totally in favor of either if the opportunity arises, as am I,” wrote Phil Spencer. It seems that the company’s interest in this study is very evident.
Although the writing is not among the leaked documents, It seems that Microsoft’s interest in Valve went far beyond a passing idea. Another leak shared by the analyst Piers Harding-Rolls reveals that the company estimates that the studio generated revenue of $6.5 billion in 2021. On the other hand, they estimate that Nintendo earns more than double that, generating $15.1 billion.
Microsoft estimated Valve’s revenue in 2021 at $6.5bn
Interesting to see another view on the scale of Valve’s business pic.twitter.com/ziKdXNxni3
— Piers Harding-Rolls (@PiersHR) September 19, 2023
That’s only slightly less than Apple and Microsoft itself. Taking this into account, no surprise that Nintendo is the preferred target, but that Valve may seem more accessible. Controlling Valve would also give the company a near-monopoly in the digital distribution of video games. Be that as it may, it doesn’t seem like the software giant is in a hurry… At least, for now.
