Yeah, true but when publishers are looking to sell, what should Microsoft do? Pass on them? That would be horrible business. Microsoft was only able to acquire ABK because of all the fucked up shit that company has done and it all became public. As for Bethesda, they were looking to sell for almost two years and both Google and EA were in on the bidding and neither came close and while EA would fit with what you said, what if Google would have acquired Bethesda? Then what? You would all the games exclusive to Stadia which was streaming only and you could only buy the games. No subscription, no digital downloads or physical discs. Would that have been better than Microsoft? To each their own but not to me. Not even close.
If Microsoft buys studios like they did in 2018, everyone will still bitch. If Microsoft pays for timed exclusivity for games on the level of Rise of the Tomb Raider, everyone will still bitch. If Microsoft acquires publishers, everyone will still bitch. Regardless of what Microsoft does or doesn't do, everyone will still bitch which is why I always say, they should do whatever they feel is best for their business and Xbox eco-system because no matter what they do, they'll never win over certain people like the vast majority here so why worry about them? Answer is you don't. Microsoft will do what they feel is best and that's it. People can love it or hate it but they sure as hell will have to accept it.
As someone who owns both XSX and PS5, doesn't matter what either do. I only favor Microsoft for one main reason - Game Pass. I'm not a collector and don't give two shits about game ownership which I see as highly overrated anyway so the more Microsoft acquires, the more games I get on Game Pass day one which was one of my primary reasons for switching to Xbox as my primary gaming console for this generation.
Hopefully, Sony can acquire Square Enix at some point so PlayStation fans can at least have a Bethesda level acquisition and for Xbox fans, they can stop bitching about Final Fantasy. Either way, I will sit back, watch and enjoy it all while also taking full advantage of what both Microsoft and Sony offer me.