Xbox VP Sarah Bond Discusses Acquisition Strategy - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 11 November 2021 / 2,244 Views
Xbox corporate vice president Sarah Bond speaking during the GamesBeat Summit Next event discusses the Xbox acquisition strategy.
"I always thought that gaming was undervalued, historically," Bond said. "When I see people waking up to the power of games and the inherent value of it, that’s a real confirmation of our acquisition strategy. We’ve believed that all along. And it’s that belief that was the basis with which we built Game Pass.
"It’s that belief that enables us to do the acquisitions that we have. It just encourages us to keep going and is affirmation that we are 100% on the right track."
"What we’re looking for is fit," Bond added. She noted Xbox is looking for studios to acquire that can add value to both Xbox and the studio itself.
Xbox has been growing its first-party lineup of studios over the past few years and with the Bethesda parent company acquisition now has 23 studios.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
"Xbox is looking for studios to acquire that can add value to both Xbox and the studio itself." That's definitely been the case for the studios that they've purchased! Ninja Theory, inXile Entertainment, Obsidian Entertainment, and Double Fine Productions have all only had positive things to say about how much of a win it was for them as studios to be under Xbox. Whether that be a bigger budget, time, manpower, or all 3 to make their games now.
I bet there's less "crunch" at these studios now that they're not independent studios struggling under third-party publishers. Microsoft has suggested they're planning to release a maximum of one big game per quarter on average (4 big games per year). So with 23 studios, many with multiple teams, producing 4 big games (and the occasional small game), and some big games like Forza only requiring 2-3 years each iteration, that means the average team has 6+ years to complete a big game! That sounds like a better work/life balance for the staff at these studios to me.
Essay Pro