The goal posts are moving again. Didnt start the trend of buying up 3rd party exclusives?
Okay bro...you win. lol
Just to bring back into focus: Microsoft isnt buying publishers to try and "brute force" anything. lol. They're buying publishers to make sure they aren't left out to certain titles due to Sony's dominance in the industry. It literally makes more financial sense for them to purchase the publishers ( all acquisitions made so far WANTED to be purchased.) than it does to continue to try and compete with Sony using their own play book. This was a direct result of Sony buying up 3rd party exclusive deals, leaving the Xbox platform out for 1 to 3 years - and some - permanently, with some really key, high profile Ip's. Hell, Starfield was LITERALLY the IP that broke the camels back. This began the acquisitions of major publishers.
Not going down this rabbit hole anymore as its been discussed to death. Good discussion. Thanks.