No, Xbox is Not Buying Steam

Don’t believe the April Fools’ joke – Xbox isn’t buying Steam. Microsoft has consistently demonstrated its ability to acquire game developers, building up its Xbox Game Studios. Starting with the Xbox One in 2014, they’ve purchased studios like Mojang, Ninja Theory, Obsidian, and Double Fine. They then made even bigger moves with the Xbox Series X/S, acquiring major publishers like Bethesda and Activision.

Even after two decades, Steam is still the most popular place to buy PC games, boasting over 100 million players each month. Thousands of new games come out on the platform every year, and it continues to thrive despite competition from stores like the Epic Games Store. Steam attracts players with regular discounts and big sales events. Valve further broadened its appeal in 2022 with the Steam Deck, a handheld device that lets gamers play their favorite titles anywhere.

Xbox Steam Acquisition Searches Jump In Wake of April Fools’ Day

Pure Xbox covered an April Fools’ Day joke about Microsoft possibly buying Steam. The joke centered around a program called Xbox Game Pass Flex, which pretended to offer a free version of Game Pass by replacing game loading screens with advertisements. Although it was just a prank, many people found it believable given the rumors about Xbox adding ads to Game Pass. It was one of several memorable Xbox-related jokes circulating online for April Fools’ Day.

Recent Google Trends data reveals a surge in searches about a possible Xbox purchase of Steam. This spike appears to be driven by a popular TikTok video from user jacobweeby, claiming Microsoft bought Steam for $10 billion. The video, which gained over 850,000 views and 75,000 likes in under a day, suggests Xbox intends to integrate Steam into a single game library for both consoles and PCs. Although the video was tagged as a skit, many viewers believed it was genuine, leading to increased online searches about the rumor.

April Fools’ Day is a popular time for the gaming community to share fake announcements and tricks. This year, big games like Overwatch and Fortnite joined in the fun. It’s not just developers playing pranks, though – fans and popular content creators often create fake gaming news as well. A recent video by Jacobweeby is one of these pranks and doesn’t suggest that Microsoft is actually buying Steam.

Even though Xbox probably won’t buy Steam outright, it’s easy to see why people thought the rumor might be true. Xbox has hinted at connecting with Steam, and the ROG Ally handheld already works with it. Plus, reports about the next Xbox console, Project Helix, suggest it will be able to play Steam games without any extra setup. So, while a full Steam purchase isn’t likely, this recent rumor might not be too far off from Microsoft’s actual plans for the future.

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2026-04-03 03:04