In an interview with GameSpot, when asked the question, Spencer’s answer was “I don’t think so”. He does admit his liking of Japanese studios, and expressed his excitement for the acquisition of Tango Gameworks. The studio behind The Evil Within series came as part of the ZeniMax Media acquisition, as it’s a studio under Bethesda.
So while Phil Spencer is interested in acquiring Japanese studios, he says it’s not currently happening. On one hand, this comes as close as it gets to denying having any plans for acquisitions at the moment. But on the other, Spencer is giving himself quite the escape strategy by saying that he’s “not in every meeting that every team has”. On the surface, whether Microsoft is indeed buying Japanese studios shouldn’t matter to most gamers. Assuming, of course, that games made by acquired studios don’t end up being Xbox exclusives. After all, Phil Spencer did say that even if the company made all Bethesda-published games exclusive it will still be able to make back the money it spent in the acquisition. (Source: GameSpot)
