In context: Microsoft has been on a bit of a studio-swallowing spree lately. It purchased Pillars of Eternity (and Fallout: New Vegas) developer Obsidian, Wasteland studio inExile Entertainment, and more recently, Bethesda, of The Elder Scrolls fame. All of those studios were US-based, but it seems Microsoft is planning to broaden its horizons to overseas talent, as well, if a new report is anything to go by.
According to Bloomberg, the software company is aiming to edge in on Sony's territory over in Japan. The outlet says several Japanese studios, who are choosing to remain anonymous (likely to avoid damaging ongoing contract talks), have been approached by Microsoft with merger or buy-out offers.
Some of those developers are big, some are small, but it's clear that Microsoft is taking a real, renewed interest in the Japanese market. The company has also reportedly been in talks with developers and publishers in an attempt to convince them to release more of their games on Xbox.
As many people know by this point, Japanese developers often favor Sony (and Nintendo, of course) consoles over Microsoft's, partially due to how long it often takes the latter to release console units in the Asian country.
It remains to be seen whether or not Microsoft's ambitions will pay off, but foreign or not, all consumers benefit from increased competition. If Microsoft manages to gain a stronger foothold in Japan, that could drive Sony to up its game; not that the company has been doing a poor job as of late, of course.
We will be keeping our eye on Microsoft's efforts in Japan, and we'll let you know if the company manages to acquire any of the country's major studios.
Masthead credit: TechCrunch