Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer would very much like to buy Nintendo one day. Spencer wrote in an August 2020 email to two Microsoft marketing executives that "Nintendo is our number one asset in gaming, and acquiring Nintendo would be a huge career moment, and I truly believe it is a good move for both companies."
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The emails were part of leaked documents from the FTC's lawsuit against Microsoft. An executive named Takeshi Numoto asked Spencer and Chris Caposella in an email titled "Random Thoughts" why Microsoft didn't find acquisition targets like Nintendo "more attractive" to "increase our consumer exposure and relevance." (At that time, Microsoft was discussing acquiring TikTok, and Numoto thought this was not the best solution).
"I have had many conversations with Nintendo's LT about working more closely together, and I feel that if any American company were to have the opportunity to work with Nintendo, we might be in the best position," Spencer wrote in the letter, where "LT" is presumably short for Leadership Team. He added that Microsoft's board of directors "has seen the full coverage of Nintendo (and Valve) and will join me in fully supporting Nintendo if the opportunity arises." Spencer also revealed that the company is having "pretty active M&A discussions" around ZeniMax Media (a deal was announced a month later) and Warner Brothers Interactive (a deal was not struck).
Previous filings have shown that Microsoft considered acquiring a number of other studios, including Bungie (now owned by Sony), Sega, and Square Enix. A recent batch of documents leaked new designs for the Xbox Series X and some unannounced games from Bethesda.