Xbox might be acquiring a studio in India as there could be massive growth in the next 3 to 5 years

Xbox head Phil Spencer won’t be surprised if Xbox acquires a studio in India, South America, or Africa.

Over the last few years, Xbox has not only acquired around its reputation for being one of the biggest and most customer-friendly companies, but has also aggressively expanded the first-party roster to over 20 studios. The biggest acquisition came in early 2021, when Xbox bought the entire roster of Bethesda Studios from the parent company ZeniMax, for a sum of $7.5 billion.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Xbox head Phil Spencer said that he won’t be surprised if Xbox acquired a studio in India, South America, or Africa.

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According to Xbox Head Phill Spencer, non-traditional hubs of game development like India can have massive growth over the next 3 to 5 years

In a recent interview with Keith Stuart of The Guardian, Xbox Head Phill Spencer, and Xbox Game Studio Head Matt Booty discussed the possibility of Xbox acquiring a studio in India, South America, or Africa.

When asked about the matter, Phil Spencer replied,

It would actually surprise me if that doesn’t happen. 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 Game Studios Head Matt Booty not only agreed, but also said that it won’t be a support studio, rather a full development team ready for the project. He said,

There should be a several-hundred-person studio [in one of these territories]. And not for outsourcing or support, but a team building whatever the version of the best blockbuster game may be for that market. That is very much the vision.

It would certainly be interesting to see Xbox not only expand into India, but also develop games to tell stories representative of the region.

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Game development studios in India

While there are multiple studios from major publishers in India such as Ubisoft in Pune and Mumbai, Rockstar in Bangalore, and EA in Hyderabad, most of them, bar Ubisoft Pune, who is developing the Prince of Persia Sands of Time Remake, are support studios.

India also has multiple independent studios developing amazing games, with examples such as Raji An Ancient Epic by Nodding Head Studio and Ashura by Ogre Head Studio.

Considering the talent developing across the country, it is quite possible for India to have major growth in the number of game development studios, and Xbox does plan to be at the forefront of it.