PlatinumGames, the developers behind acclaimed games such as Nier: Automata and the Bayonetta series, have hinted that they’re open to being acquired. Specifically, they seem to be looking at Microsoft granted Activision is given freedom to make their games.
Speaking to Video Games Chronicle recently, PlatinumGames CEO Atsushi Inaba entertained the idea of being acquired, specifically mentioning the recent Microsoft acquisition of Activision Blizzard. Inaba cites that as long as Xbox still gives Activision creative freedom on their projects while supporting them, PlatinumGames might be inclined to follow.
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Inaba’s full statement on the idea of PlatinumGames being acquired reads:
“The most important thing for us is to have the freedom to make the games that we want to make. What I hear about the recent acquisitions, I don’t think Microsoft is going to start micromanaging Activision to where they take away all their freedom… I don’t think it’s going to be a relationship like that. I think there’s going to be a lot of mutual respect there and I think Activision will be able to continue doing what they do best. That’s also what’s most important to us at the end of the day, whatever form that takes for us and our company. So I would not turn anything down, as long as our freedom was still respected.”
While Inaba doesn’t explicitly state that they’d like to be acquired by Microsoft, the hint is fairly obvious that Xbox is their most likely buyer.
This would also make sense as PlatinumGames director Hideki Kamiya recently urged Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer to reconsider talks about potentially reviving their canceled project Scalebound.
Microsoft have been acquiring several studios and developers outside of Activision Blizzard. Before the historic acquisition, they also acquired studios such as Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Playground Games and Bethesda (including their entire subsidiary studios from Arkane, id Software, Tango Gameworks and more).
Could a Microsoft acquisition of PlatinumGames be on the table? At this point, it’s hard to predict anything and we’re open to surprises.
Source: Video Games Chronicle