Satya Nadella says Microsoft isn't done buying new game studios

Microsoft’s latest financial investment of $7.5 billion for ZeniMax Media and all of its subsidiaries may not be the last of Microsoft’s game studio acquisitions according to CEO Satya Nadella. 

In an interview with CNET, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed that Microsoft’s investment in previously established game studios is far easier than building massive companies from the ground up.

“We’ll always look for places where there is that commonality of purpose, mission and culture,” Satya Nadella said. “You can’t wake up one day and say, ‘Let me build a game studio.”

With Xbox Game Pass being the product that Microsoft is focused on selling, the company’s plan is more focused on investing in already established franchises and studios with their own communities to bring on board, much like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video do.

“Content is just the incredible ingredient to our platform that we continue to invest in,” Nadella explained.  “The idea of having content is so we can reach larger communities.”

Despite Microsoft’s continued investment in established studios, the company has still been investing in a newly constructed development team. Xbox’s The Initiative is the company’s alleged A-Team studio consisting of numerous industry veterans from Naughty Dog, Crystal Dynamics, Bungie and more.

Microsoft’s handling of these game studios has allegedly been quite hands-off, allowing studios to continue working without disruption of management found elsewhere.