The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S next-gen consoles launch in less than a month, and Microsoft has built up more hype than may have been expected. The recent announcement that Microsoft had acquired ZeniMax Media, which includes Bethesda, id Software, and more, did an amazing job persuading gamers of the next-gen potential of the platform. But according to one rumor, Microsoft may have one more last-second surprise leading up to the Xbox Series X's launch.

Podcaster Shpeshal_Ed drops the rumor in an episode of XboxEra recorded over a week ago, but only now making the rounds. The podcasters are talking about Microsoft's acquisitions when The Verge's Tom Warren says that he "feels like [Microsoft's] going to announce another [acquisition] soon," though he makes clear that it's just an impression he has. Shpeshal_Ed follows that up by saying that he has actually heard Microsoft has another acquisition to announce. No verified source is provided for this rumor.

In other words, Microsoft may have one more acquisition to announce in preparation for the Xbox Series X's launch. To be clear, Shpeshal_Ed doesn't say or seem to know when the acquisition would be announced and he says outright that he doesn't know what the acquisition is. But if the rumor, if it's true, has reached Shpeshal_Ed at all, it likely implies that the acquisition would be something Microsoft is capable of announcing soon. And since it hasn't already, it'll be interesting to see if this takes on a "save the best for last" mentality, although it's hard to imagine what could be bigger than Bethesda.


Even without this latest rumor, Microsoft's done plenty to ignite speculation about further acquisitions on its own. Even as recent as a couple of weeks ago, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company will continue to grow following ZeniMax's acquisition. Xbox boss Phil Spencer also shared a similar sentiment, saying that Microsoft would "continue to invest" in the Xbox platform.

From that same interview, Xbox fans were also speculating about the specific language Spencer used. He referenced Xbox Game Studios doubling in size. Xbox Game Studios, prior to the ZeniMax acquisition, featured 15 studios and Zenimax added another 14. That leaves one extra, though that's likely reading too much into the situation. The fact stands that Xbox is all but guaranteed to make further studio acquisitions in the future, and it's just a matter of when they're confirmed and announced, not if.

Should Microsoft have another acquisition ready to announce in the next month, it would be the perfect punctuation leading into the launch of the Xbox Series X, as many fans are already excited about the platform's future. Halo Infinite, Avowed, Starfield, Fable, and others are high on players' lists, but it would be all the sweeter of Xbox comes by the end of October, saying, "but that's not all."

The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S release November 10.