Microsoft could be looking to acquire EA, Valve, PUBG maker Bluehole - rumour

Microsoft is reportedly looking at making big acquisitions to bolster the Xbox first-party line-up.

Microsoft has not made it a secret that it intends to fix the lack of Xbox One exclusives, and it looks like the platform holder is not leaving anything out of the question, up to and including buying entire publishers.

The names being thrown around certainly are big. Polygon cites an anonymous source close to Microsoft in saying that the company is looking at acquiring Electronic Arts.

Other "whispers" the site's heard reveal that Microsoft looked at buying Valve, as well as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds developer Bluehole after the studio's expolsive success last year. Though this may seem like wild speculation, it's important to note that these sorts of discussions happen all the time in the industry.

Microsoft certainly can afford these ventures, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's the only company looking at acquisitions of this scale. That said, Microsoft is more interested than anyone today to build its first-party portfolio, and owning the studios and talent that come with a publisher EA is one surefire way of doing that.

The most recent Xbox Game Pass announcement would certainly look a lot better if one of the games had BioWare or DICE's name on it.