NEW - Via an FTC vs. Microsoft exhibit: In 2019, Microsoft mulled trying to buy Square Enix. Unclear at what level this was pitched, but Phil Spencer gave feedback to the internal proposal

Wow that Twitter thread was toxic - people pretending like "greedy" Xbox is one acquisition away from world domination, when all the facts have pointed at Sony making game-level deals to continue dominating Xbox across so many new titles.

Of course Microsoft has considered acquiring other studios - that's what happens in the business world: you consider making purchases of other companies/competition to see if they make business sense to do so. Even Sony has acquired Bungie recently to expand their portfolio of live service games, of which they showed off like 10 at their recent games showcase a month or so ago.