Microsoft Acquiring ZeniMax Media Including Bethesda Softworks General Gaming

[David76]

In a move that's shaken the games industry, Microsoft has announced that it's acquiring ZeniMax Media – the parent company of Bethesda Softworks.

The move means that Microsoft will have ownership of massive franchises like Fallout, Doom, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Prey, Quake, and more besides.

Some of the development studios that will now be owned by Microsoft include: Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

According to Microsoft, it paid $7.5 billion for the acquisition.

"Bethesda's games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world," reads a press release from Microsoft, written by Xbox head, Phil Spencer.

"Our teams have a close and storied history working together, from the amazing first DOOM, and its id Tech engine, innovating games on PCs to Bethesda bringing their first console game to the original Xbox, the groundbreaking The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind.

"Over the years I've had many deep conversations with the creative leaders at Bethesda on the future of gaming and we've long shared similar visions for the opportunities for creators and their games to reach more players in more ways."

Bethesda's future titles will be added to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, and there's no mention of previously announced titles' (such as Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI) availability on other platforms.

"This [partnership] is about more than one system or one screen," adds Todd Howard, director of Bethesda Games. "We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone – regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one.

"We can't think of a better group of people to do that with than those at Xbox. We have friendships that go back to those original days. From Phil to his senior leaders to developer support, they don't just talk about putting players first, they passionately live it."

"Today is a landmark step in our journey together and I'm incredibly energized by what this step means for Xbox," concludes Spencer.

 

[Deleted member 63]

Wow, I am not a gamer myself but even I know that's huge. Clearly, MS wants to make sure they have lots of content for the new XBox and PCs.

 

[David76]

It is a massive deal.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft take a route that involves no platform exclusives here. Instead, offer the games for 70 £/$/€ a pop on PlayStation but include them for nothing for Xbox users with your Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

That's the play here.

 

[Fraser]

It is a massive deal.

It's big, but I don't think its anywhere near as big as it would have been 5 years ago.

I think Doom Eternal was a huge step down from the previous one, Bethesda have massively damaged the Fallout brand in recent years and there is likely to be a huge gap between the release of Elder Scrolls 5 and Elder Scrolls 6.

They are big franchises no doubt, but far away from what they used to be.

 

[Deleted member 69]

I wouldn't be surprised to see Microsoft take a route that involves no platform exclusives here. Instead, offer the games for 70 £/$/€ a pop on PlayStation but include them for nothing for Xbox users with your Game Pass Ultimate subscription.

That's a frustrating compromise for non-XBox owners, but I feel like it's the best compromise we can get right now. Better to be able to play games without platform-exclusivity being a problem. Hopefully, that would mean more XBox and even Playstation games in the future could be adapted for the PC as well, with this changing climate of the gaming industry.

 

[Bandit]

That's an absolutely massive acquisition. Will be interesting to see how that impacts exclusives, as there are some huge IP's in there. The entire Bethesda range will be on Game Pass as well apparently.

 

[Geezer]

Big news. Could definitely help Microsoft step up its exclusive games.

 

[Mouth]

Even if they do allow their games to be cross platform £70 on PS5 vs free on GamePass is a convincing argument for a lot of people to get an Xbox instead.

 

[David76]

Xbox's Phil Spencer has said that the deal to acquire Bethesda wasn't done in order to "take games away from another player base."

In light of Microsoft acquiring Bethesda Softworks and all of its studios only a few weeks back, ongoing discussions in the aftermath of the deal have largely centred around whether or not future titles from Bethesda would still come to other platforms outside of the Xbox ecosystem. After all, Microsoft spent a wild $7.5 billion on this acquisition, and considering how well titles like The Elder Scrolls VI would surely do on a platform like PS5 in terms of sales, the value proposition seems to be too much to pass up. According to Xbox head Phil Spencer, however, that's not necessarily the case.

Speaking to Kotaku in a new interview, Spencer was asked about the Bethesda deal and what it might mean in the future. Specifically, the notion of bringing Bethesda titles to platforms outside of Xbox was brought up. In terms of making back its investment, Spencer said very clearly that releasing Bethesda games on platforms other than those that Microsoft has at its disposal right now won't be needed.

"But I'll also say in the model—I'm just answering directly the question that you had—when I think about where people are going to be playing and the number of devices that we had, and we have xCloud and PC and Game Pass and our console base, I don't have to go ship those games on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to kind of make the deal work for us," Spencer said. Even though it has previously been said that Bethesda games might come to other platforms on a case by case basis, Spencer's comments here makes it sound as though it might not be a common occurrence.



Additionally, Spencer noted that the Bethesda acquisition in the first place was not one that was made to keep players from playing certain games from the publisher. "This deal was not done to take games away from another player base like that. Nowhere in the documentation that we put together was: 'How do we keep other players from playing these games?' We want more people to be able to play games, not fewer people to be able to go play games," he explained. The notion of growing the larger video game market has been something that Spencer has talked a lot about over the years.