Microsoft wanted to acquire Square Enix as part of plan for mobile Game Pass

According to the documents, Microsoft had a number of reasons for being interested in Square Enix. Part of it was to bolster Xbox’s historically scant presence in Asian markets. There was another obvious reason: to add more content to drive growth of Xbox Game Pass through new blockbuster Square Enix releases as well as the company’s extensive back catalog.

A more surprising reason for the potential acquisition, however, was to gain a step up in mobile — which could help “future mobile-exclusive Game Pass offerings.” Currently, Game Pass supports Xbox and PC, but it looks like Microsoft has had some broader plans in the past.

“Combining Square Enix’s robust mobile-native portfolio with our own could potentially help us create a mobile-native Xbox Game Pass SKU,” the document reads, adding that the publisher’s games — which include ports of classic games sold at a premium — would “have substantial value for a subscription service.”