Xbox boss Phil Spencer would be surprised if Microsoft doesn’t buy a studio in India, Africa, or South America in the coming years.
Speaking the The Guardian during a recent interview, Spencer was asked whether Microsoft would look to add to its growing roster of internal studios — which includes Bethesda, Arkane Studios, Ninja Theory, Obsidian, Double Fine, and more — by acquiring studios in new and emerging territories.
“It would actually surprise me if that doesn’t happen,” commented Spencer, suggesting Microsoft would need to bring in talent from those regions if it wanted to tell new stories.
“Just knowing the talent that’s available, and the tools [such as game engines Unity and Unreal] that are so much more accessible. I would be surprised if in the next three to five years, you don’t see numerous studios in places that aren’t the traditional hubs of video game development.”
Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty echoed Spencer’s remarks. He suggested “there should be a several-hundred-person studio” in one of those territories creating “whatever the version of the best blockbuster game may be for that market.”
You can hear more from Spencer and Booty by checking out the full interview on The Guardian.