SEGA is not a new name in the gaming industry. The studio has developed many games throughout the years, which some fans still enjoy to date. Game franchises like Sonic The Hedgehog and Yakuza, and helped SEGA lay its fingerprint in the world of gaming. Although SEGA hasn’t really been that active in recent years, the studio still has surprises to offer its fans.
Recently, there have been rumors going around that SEGA secretly might have signed a deal with Microsoft. The deal includes an exclusivity link with Xbox. Additionally, it would allow Xbox owners to dive into nostalgia and play retro games or try out their latest titles. If the deal exists according to what rumors suggest, that is.
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Here is what we know
The brand ambassador for SEGA, Nathan Shabazi, has been retweeting a lot of Xbox related tweets. There also has been an inflow of SEGA games (Yakuza and Phantasy Star Online) into GamePass at Xbox events while there is no mention of any of its games at Sony events. These are all mere speculations and do not provide enough proof to make us believe in such a deal. However, a Reddit user, u/tandeh786, posted information that might shift your belief.
In his post, he brings up the following points:
SEGA Sammys Latest Financial Report
The report included two interesting statements.
- ‘Recorded one-off revenue from the transfer of titles and offering of titles’
- ‘«Entertainment Contents » In the digital game software field, the Group recorded “transient” sales such as title transfers and offering titles’
The Reddit user explains that Microsoft may have bought some IPs, entered a partnership with SEGA, or purchased a studio. This theory comes from the meaning of transient which means ‘for a short time’. Thus meaning that Microsoft made a one-time payment.
SEGA SAMMY Management Meeting
In this document, there is a section for ‘Multi-Platform Expansion’. As the name suggests, this particular section is about SEGA thinking of expanding their existing IPs to different platforms and services. Here SEGA Sammy specifically points out GamePass. You can see the attached screenshot below.
Further proof
Another Reddit user (ctto) took a screenshot of SEGA Instagram story which is promoting Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Although there are already some of SEGA titles available on the popular gaming subscription service, this could mean something more than promoting that. Nevertheless, this is all speculation and should not be taken too seriously.
u/tandeh786’s post also includes another screenshot. This shows a list of possible SEGA titles that will be coming to the Xbox Series X. The list includes games like Alien Isolation, Bayonetta, Company of Heroes, Football Manager, Sonic The Hedgehog, Two Point Hospital, Yakuza, and many more. The studio has confirmed that Yakuza: Like a Dragon will come to Xbox series X. As for the rest, it’s not clear yet whether if they will be available or not.
Conclusion
To sum it all up, it’s up to you about what you decide with theory. All of the ‘proofs’ that have emerged up till now are all postulations and guesswork. Currently, there are a few SEGA games available on the Game Pass service. So there is a possibility of further availability of different SEGA games as well. As for now, all we can do is wait and see how this story unfolds.