Should Microsoft and Sony team up against Tencent? This is how they could stop the Asian giant | we are xbox

Although many do not know the extent of its power, Tencent is currently the company with the greatest presence in the video game industry, with a large number of recognized studios (such as Epic Games or Riot Games, among others), as well as a stake in other big players in the industry (such as Ubisoft or, to a lesser extent, Platinum Games).

So much power has led the European Federation of Video Games to support Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, in order to add one more company to the equation in its fight against the Chinese giant, something that will undoubtedly directly benefit gamers. . Such has been the point, that some have come to ask a question that, although far-fetched at the moment, could come to fruition at some point. Should Microsoft and Sony team up against Tencent?

Should Microsoft and Sony team up against Tencent?

The current situation in the purchase of Activision Blizzard makes a positive answer to this question unthinkable, at least for the moment. However, once the transaction is completed, either positively or negatively for the interests of Redmond, perhaps both companies should try to smooth things over, and try to fight against the Asian giant in one way or another.

In recent years, China’s Tencent has invested aggressively in game developer studios and publishers around the world, and is currently the largest game developer and publisher on the planet. Having a strong counterforce to Tencent’s influence in gaming markets is crucial.

But how should Microsoft and Sony ally? The answer is somewhat complex. It seems obvious both companies will not collaborate at the software level to try to stop Tencent. However, what both companies could do is try to show a unified position regarding future acquisitions that the Chinese company might try to do in the future.

In fact, in recent months there has been talk that Tencent could expand its investment in Ubisoft, thus taking over the largest percentage of shares in the French company, since it is at its worst moment since it avoided being acquired by Vivendi. . In case something like this happens, both Sony and Microsoft should collaborate to try to prevent Tencent from gaining even more power than it already has in the industry.

With Riot Games as the main asset, and with the support of Epic Games behind it, adding Ubisoft ownership to Tencent could cause too great a power for a single company, since it would have control of the studio with the most popular game on the planet (Riot ), the company that owns the most widely used graphics engine in the industry (Epic) and one of the largest publishers in the industry (Ubisoft). Therefore, an alliance between Microsoft and Sony at the “legal” level It would be something logical and necessary to try to preserve competition.