Microsoft apparently considered buying out Square Enix back in 2019, according to an exhibit presented in the ongoing FTC v. Microsoft case. Phil Spencer had given feedback on the buyout proposal, according to the exhibit.

As is the case with the company’s other acquisitions, Microsoft proposed shipping future Square Enix games on Day 1 via Game Pass, though existing games with announced platforms would have been released as-is.

Strategy proposal was for existing SquareEnix games to launch on announced platforms. Future games would ship day/date on Game Pass (which they note would cannibalize sales)
Team wanted to explore trade-offs of selling SquareEnix content exclusively on Xbox vs. competing consoles pic.twitter.com/I85xvR7AKU

— Stephen Totilo (@stephentotilo) June 28, 2023

The proposal also noted that shipping games via Game Pass would end up hurting overall sales for Square Enix’s titles and that trade-offs between Xbox-exclusive releases and releases on multiple platforms would be examined.

Square Enix joins the handful of big gaming companies that Microsoft has had its eye on, with other big names such as Zynga, SEGA, and Bungie all considered for a buyout at some point in the past. Given Square Enix’s recent launch of Final Fantasy 16, a buyout of the company by Microsoft could have possibly affected its exclusivity on the PS5.