From Yakuza/Like a Dragon and Persona getting Xbox releases to several of its major titles being day one Game Pass games, Sega has had an excellent relationship with Microsoft in even years, to the point that the Japanese company was even one of several being eyed by Microsoft as an acquisition target. And with the industry caught up in an acquisitions race in general, whether or not Sega is a company that will also get snapped up by a larger group is a question that’s been asked by many.
That, however, doesn’t seem to be on the agenda for Sega itself. Speaking recently with CNBC, when asked about whether Sega has any interest in being acquired, chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi said that though the company has drawn interest from many parties owing to its strong umbrella of IP, he doesn’t believe an acquisition is going to happen.
“Many companies are interested,” Utsumi said. “We feel honored. We have attractive IPs and potentials. Companies owned by the owner. A strong owner. I don’t think that kind of transaction is going to happen.”
That said, though Sega isn’t interested in being acquired, it does plan on acquiring other studios to boost its own portfolio. Recently, the company completed the acquisition of Angry Birds developer Rovio.
“As an entity of Sega Sammy, we are acquiring some of the companies,” he said. “We just made an announcement [to buy Rovio]. We are still looking for opportunities for growth.”
Sega has a number of major releases lined up for the coming months, with Like Dragon: Infinite Wealth launching in January, Persona 3 Reload in February, and Metaphor: ReFantazio also confirmed for 2024.