Microsoft has had its eye on acquiring several developers, but Capcom has emphatically stated it would reject any attempts. At Tokyo Game Show, Bloomberg asked COO Haruhiro Tsujimoto about the possibility of Microsoft buying the Japanese developer, and Tsujimoto said he would “gracefully decline” any offer made.
Candidly, he added that it would be better “if we were equal partners.” Capcom is notably the first developer to really make a statement regarding the chances of Microsoft acquiring it; earlier this summer during its trial with the FTC, court documents showed the Xbox maker eyeing developers such as Square Enix and Bungie.
In the case of Square Enix and Sega, Microsoft wanted one or either company to help gain a foothold in Japan (and Asia more broadly), where Xbox has failed to make much of an impact. Capcom may not have the mobile reach of those two developers, but its name still carries a particular weight that would make it worth buying.
By a similar measure, Tsujimoto affirmed that Capcom has no interest in doing any acquiring of its own. He noted the developer would rather focus on “organic growth” and its own internal teams, as it’s “important to train and develop human resources in-house in order to carry out growth strategies.”
“We can utilize external partners,” he added, “but we have no intention of acquiring companies.”
Capcom doesn’t want a buyer, nor does it need one
While Capcom wasn’t explicitly named in Microsoft’s internal documents, it would be easy to imagine it was up for consideration at some point. Tsujimoto acknowledged that Capcom was once a “target” for acquisition years prior, when the developer was seeing repeated revenue slumps during the early and mid-2010s.
Following the gargantuan release of Monster Hunter World in 2018, Capcom’s fortunes have turned around in recent years. Its various Resident Evil remakes (and wholly new installments) have sold fairly well, and recent entries in franchises like Street Fighter and Devil May Cry have had similarly strong performances.
2023 in particular has been a successful year for Capcom all around, thanks to new premium titles like Resident Evil 4 Remake and Street Fighter 6, along with back catalog hits like Monster Hunter Rise.
And while it may not want to be a part of Microsoft, Capcom has maintained a healthy relationship with Xbox. Exoprimal from earlier this summer launched day one on Xbox Game Pass, and the upcoming Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will also launch on the service when it releases.