Rumours have arrived this week that Microsoft are looking to make a games acquisition of epic proportions.
But this wouldn’t be just a franchise or singular, but a hold company, some of which are very well known.
This is apparently tied to Microsoft’s current issues of lacking Xbox One games exclusives, which could come from whoever they decide to buy.
First reported by Polygon, sources close to the company have confirmed that there have been talks over titan such as Electronic Arts and Valve.
EA would likely need one of the biggest purchases in games industry history to make happen, and would also change a lot for fans.
Valve seems a lot less likely, while PUBG Corp were also listed as a potential target for Microsoft.
“Some of the names being thrown around as possible acquisitions by Microsoft are, frankly, astounding, even unthinkable,” the Polygon’s Colin Campbell writes.
“But the fact that they are doing the rounds is instructive. The most recent one we heard (from a reliable source close to Microsoft) was, in fact, Electronic Arts.
“We also heard a whisper about Valve and about Korean outfit PUBG Corp., which Microsoft last year signed to a timed exclusive for its hit survival shooter, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds.”
The most likely of the three would be PUBG, although how that would fix Microsoft’s problem with exclusives is unclear.
Monster Hunter World Online has proven to be a hit with fans, even if some of them have been hit by bugs.
Matchmaking during the game’s first weekend was hit by issues on Xbox One, which left many unable to play multiplayer.
“Hunters on Xbox One, the “Matchmake”, “Filter Search”, “Squad Session Search” and “Response to SOS” functions are currently unavailable; our dev team is currently working on a solution and we’ll provide an update as soon as it is available,” the Capcom support team confirmed at the time.
“In the meantime, you can still join Online Sessions by “Session ID”, “Invite a Friend” and the Xbox LFG.”
It appears that the weekend issues are stating to clear up, with players reporting seeing other gamers in their games tonight.
Fans will be hoping that these issues don’t flare up in the future, as hopes are high that the new Monster Hunter World will be a top multiplayer experience for months to come.
Serving as your very own Monster Hunter World guide, Tsujimoto told Express Online that players should observe beasts, be patient and wait for the right moment to strike.
“The most important thing if you haven’t played Monster Hunter before is to realise that it’s about hunting,” Tsujimoto explains.
“In a real life situation if you were to try to hunt an animal that was trying to kill you, you wouldn’t run up to it and bash the buttons, so to speak.
“Observation, learning and putting into practice is really important, so don’t just run up to the monster and swing your sword.
“Take a look at its behaviour, because it will always have some tells. If it’s about to do its big damage swipe attack, there will always be a wind up animation that will give you a signal.
“You can always tell from observing the monster if you look really carefully what kind of attack it’s going to do and what kind of mood it’s in.”