Xbox shuts down rumors of another big purchase announcement at Tokyo Game Show

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After Bethesda, anything seems to be on the table

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Xbox is coming to Tokyo Game Show 2020 Online tomorrow, but you shouldn't expect another bombshell announcement along the lines of its Bethesda purchase.

Microsoft shared an outline of its plans for TGS on Twitter earlier this month, revealing that it would 'celebrate Japanese game creators and games' among other plans, but that it would not share any new announcements about its next-gen plans. Since it sent that tweet on September 1 it has given all the official details for both Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, as well as opened Xbox Series X pre-orders, and the day before that it bought one of the biggest game companies in the business.

The Bethesda purchase sent shockwaves through the games industry and gaming fans. Naturally, it also sparked off a flurry of speculation about who Microsoft should buy next, who Sony should buy next, who Microsoft should buy so Sony can't buy them, vice versa, and so on. Xbox says no such announcements will be shared at Tokyo Game Show.

Microsoft won't announce another big acquisition at Tokyo Game Show, but that doesn't mean its hunger for video game companies has been sated. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told CNET that the company will consider buying more game companies in the future if and when it makes sense.

We do know that Bethesda's future games will appear on Xbox Game Pass day one, though "future" has an asterisk there: both Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo will still honor their timed-exclusivity commitments to PlayStation.

Big changes are in store for Bethesda's relationship with Microsoft and the games industry at large, though the publisher will continue to run "semi-independently" according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer.

Connor Sheridan
Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and was formerly a staff writer at GamesRadar.