Asian Tech Press (Oct 16) -- Japan's Sony plans to acquire Bandai Namco in response to Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, according to the latest market news.

Alex Smith, a former developer at Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE)'s first-party game studio Bend Studio, broke the news on social media X that Sony is in active talks to acquire Bandai Namco.

He disclosed that originally Sony had intended to accept Microsoft's takeover deal for Activision Blizzard, but then it changed its mind due to certain disagreements.

In September 2022, Sony was facing two paths: one was to expect regulators to block Microsoft's deal with Activision Blizzard, and the other was to start looking for a new acquisition target other than Bungie.

Ultimately, Sony targeted Bandai Namco.

If Sony successfully completes its acquisition of Bandai Namco, it will be the largest acquisition in Sony's company history and will help it counteract Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard.

Alex Smith said that Sony would probably announce this possible deal at the beginning of the next fiscal year, i.e. after March next year.