Sega has no plans to be acquired, by Microsoft or any other company.
Earlier this week during the Federal Trade Commission's hearings into Microsoft's attempted acquisition of Activision, it was revealed that Microsoft was considering acquiring a slate of developers, including Sega. Now, Sega co-chief operating officer Shuji Utsumi has shot down any speculation that Sega is up for sale.
Could Sega be acquired by Microsoft?Shuji Utsumi, co-COO of the studio behind Sonic the Hedgehog, has a simple answer: "no" https://t.co/dR0PWAISKA pic.twitter.com/fsODUSmkwzJune 29, 2023
"Well, we feel honored," Utsumi said in the Bloomberg interview above when asked about a potential acquisition by Microsoft. "I mean, they see the value as a lot. So, you know, we still work closely with Microsoft. They always show, you know, respect," Utsumi added.
"So we being, you know, having a good relationship with them and really appreciate that they, you know, somehow value us," Utsumi continued. When asked straight whether Sega had any intention to be acquired though, the co-COO had far less words for the topic, simply saying "no."
That puts an end to that speculation. It's true that Microsoft has been working very closely with Sega over the past few years - look no further than the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series, which Sega publishes, coming to Xbox Series X/S as a new-gen title before it actually got a PS5 port, which would've been unthinkable as little as four years ago.
From the sounds of Utsumi's comments, it seems like Sega enjoys working with Microsoft, but definitely plans to remain independent of the massive Western corporation.
Sonic Superstars is the next mainline game in one of Sega's most recognizable franchises, and you can read our Sonic Superstars preview to see what we made of the game when we played it for ourselves.
