Microsoft Officially Acquires Bethesda, Some Games Won’t Launch on PlayStation
Microsoft has now made the $7 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media (the parent company of Bethesda) official. The news was announced via the official Xbox social media channels and the Xbox Wire website.
It now means that franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, The Evil Within, Starfield, and more are owned by Microsoft.
Existing games under the ZeniMax umbrella will still be available for other consoles such as Nintendo and PlayStation, as well as any accompanying DLC. However, the future of yet-to-be-released games on consoles outside of Xbox is unclear.
We already know that the likes of GhostWire: Tokyo and Deathloop will be at the very least timed-exclusives to PlayStation as Microsoft will honour previous deals prior to the takeover. Though it’s very likely that both games will come to Xbox eventually.
On the Xbox Wire, Xbox Chief Phil Spencer said: “With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.”
It’s worth noting that Phil Spencer said that “some new titles in the future” will be exclusive to Xbox and PC. So at least that doesn’t mean that all Bethesda titles will be exclusive, though at this stage we have no idea as to which games will or won’t be exclusive.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that if Microsoft decides to keep certain major titles exclusive, it’s their right, after all, they have spent billions on the deal.
I would take a guess that perhaps certain single-player orientated games might remain exclusive to Xbox and PC. However, games that are easier to monetise with in-game purchases might be multiplatform, as it means more of the microtransaction money. But that’s just guesswork on my part.
At this stage, it’s all pure speculation, but hopefully, we’ll learn more details in the coming months.