Private equity firms reportedly explored buying Xbox for between $100 billion and $150 billion, but the discussions did not reach negotiations with Microsoft.
The report, comes from The Information, who contacted Microsoft for verification. A Microsoft spokesman told them “Xbox is not for sale.”
Investors considering a purchase does not mean Microsoft sought a buyer, accepted an offer or agreed to sell its gaming business. The reported price range is also not an agreed sale price.
Many in the gaming community highlighted that gap, pushing back against suggestions that a takeover was underway. Others questioned the valuation, comparing it with the billions Microsoft has spent buying publishers and studios.
The biggest of those deals was Activision Blizzard. Microsoft announced the purchase in 2022 at a value of $68.7 billion, including Activision Blizzard’s net cash. It completed the acquisition in October 2023, bringing the companies behind Call of Duty, World of Warcraft and Candy Crush into Xbox.
Microsoft also bought Minecraft developer Mojang for $2.5 billion in 2014. Those purchases help explain why readers are comparing the reported Xbox valuation with Microsoft’s past spending.
However, adding up acquisition costs does not establish what the combined business would sell for today. A purchase price reflects a particular deal at a particular time. It is not a fixed value that carries over to every later transaction.
The discussion also shows why “Xbox” means more than the console. Microsoft’s gaming business spans console, PC and mobile games, with major publishing operations alongside its hardware and services. Any potential sale would raise questions about which businesses and assets were included.
For players, the immediate question is whether anything changes. This report does not announce changes to Game Pass, console support, game libraries or upcoming releases. It offers no confirmed basis for saying those products would move to a new owner.
The reports have, however, has nevertheless raised concerns about a potential changing of ownership where there were none before. Despite the recent shakeups taking place at Microsoft and Xbox, a potential private-equity takeover has never been a widely considered possibility. For now, there is no announced deal. The key distinction remains between investors exploring a purchase and Microsoft negotiating a sale—and the company’s stated position is that Xbox is not for sale.
