With two days left until Xbox's E3 2021 press conference, speculation is peaking for games including Halo Infinite, Forza Horizon 5, and Starfield. Yet another topic is quickly grasping for attention, too. In recent years, Xbox has made the possibility of new studio acquisitions a major focus for fans. Now, 2021 looks to continue that trend. A sudden surge of last-minute rumors about Xbox studio acquisitions has spread, with five studios being named as potential Xbox Game Studios pickups.
The rumors stem from dubious origins. Colt Eastwood, YouTuber and host of the XNC Podcast, posted a Twitter message reading "26 is better than 23." The tweet was a clear reference to the 23 teams within Xbox Game Studios growing to 26. A follow-up tweet was posted Friday morning reading, "28 is better." The ambiguous nature of the tweets, as well as Colt Eastwood not being known as a reliable leaker, kept speculation from getting out of control.
What's led the rumors to grow, however, is additional commentary from GamesBeat reporter Jeff Grubb on the GamesBeat Decides podcast. When asked about the initial rumor of three possible Xbox acquisitions, Grubb offered up three names. Those names are Avalanche, IO Interactive, and Crytek. Today, Grubb was asked once again, since the number had increased. Grubb added two more names, NetherRealm and Rocksteady. Needless to say, these are some very big possible acquisitions.
Grubb himself has kept his distance from legitimizing these rumors, however. The most Grubb is willing to say about them is that he's heard "smoke" surrounding these names as possible Xbox acquisitions. In other words, there's nothing substantial behind them right now other than that there's some talk behind the scenes. Grubb even goes so far as saying that ten days ago he heard reliable information that Xbox didn't have plans to announce an acquisition at E3.
What that means is that if Xbox is making an acquisition announcement at E3, the deal likely happened very recently. Further, it happened so fast and in such a way that Xbox has even changed its plans for E3. In other words, it's possible but difficult to believe.
Grubb does say that he thinks it's possible for Xbox to be this aggressive. He notes that Microsoft has a lot of money and that now's a good time for spending, compared to next year or beyond with regards to inflation and taxes. Still, Avalanche, IOI, Crytek, NetherRealm, and Rocksteady are all very big studios, all of them making AAA games. Even one of those studios would be a very big acquisition. All five would beggar belief.
Xbox's E3 2021 press conference airs on June 12 at 10:00 am PT.