Microsoft has acquired Bethesda for $7.5 billion

[Himmel]

Microsoft has acquired Bethesda for $7.5 billion.

Today is a special day, as we welcome some of the most accomplished studios in the games industry to Xbox. We are thrilled to announce Microsoft has entered into an agreement to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks.

As one of the largest, most critically acclaimed, privately held game developers and publishers in the world, Bethesda is an incredibly talented group of 2,300 people worldwide who make up some of the most accomplished creative studios in our industry across Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios. These are the teams responsible for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, Quake, Starfield and many more.

Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world. 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.

Just as they took the bold first steps to bring The Elder Scrolls franchise to the original Xbox, Bethesda were early supporters of Xbox Game Pass, bringing their games to new audiences across devices and have been actively investing in new gaming technology like cloud streaming of games. We will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC. One of the things that has me most excited is seeing the roadmap with Bethesda’s future games, some announced and many unannounced, to Xbox console and PC including Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.

Like us, Bethesda are passionate believers in building a diverse array of creative experiences, in exploring new game franchises, and in telling stories in bold ways. All of their great work will of course continue and grow and we look forward to empowering them with the resources and support of Microsoft to scale their creative visions to more players in new ways for you.

All of our work, and the foundation of our relationship with you, starts with a commitment to deliver a breadth of amazing games to discover and play on Xbox. Over the last few weeks, we’ve been excited to share more detail on important elements of a plan we’ve been building towards for years. A plan that is the fulfilment of a promise, to you the Xbox player, to deliver the most performant, immersive and compatible next-generation gaming experiences, and the freedom to play blockbuster games with your friends, anytime, anywhere. Today is a landmark step in our journey together and I’m incredibly energized by what this step means for Xbox.

Please join me in welcoming all of our friends at Bethesda to Team Xbox. [×]

[JayTL]

...oh

I don't think Microsoft makes these guys have exclusive titles, just to have them all on Gamepass would be huge

[Mavrick]

Lmfao this is nuts.

If you cant make your own exclusives just buy the 3rd parties and make them your own

This is a huge win for MS.

Now I wonder if there is truth to the rumour Sony tried to buy Bungie. They should probably jump on Bluepoint asap

[Mavrick]

This basically confirms I'll be buying a series x

[Havok83]

Dang. Well this is a much bigger get than Sony getting Spider-man in Avengers

[Diesel]

Yowza that’s a huge get.

[AreaFive]

This makes me incredibly uneasy. Bethesda is one of, if not my favorite, developers and history is full of numerous examples of studios that, once purchased by Microsoft, languished away only to come to an unceremonious end (such as Lionhead and Ensemble) or are barely clinging to life (such as Rare and Twisted Pixel). I certainly can't think of one that was better off afterwards.

[NARMAK]

They had a lot of games i played from Fallout Elderscrolls and others like Dishonored. That going away from PlayStation via multiplatform after the full existing titles will be sad but a coup for MS here. Smart purchase in terms of IP and content offerings to bolster value propositions of owning an Xbox. Just a shame we all know you can buy a PC to play them

I jest, a great day if you are an Xbox fan and primary console player.

[Blu Lemmy]

Boom!

[Steelmaker]

Big Dick move my MS for sure! Great timing too, one day before XSX preorders go live.

Now, I could be wrong but I have a sneaking suspicion that Bethesda games will continue to be made available everywhere, despite being owned by MS. You don't pay 7.5 Billion for a publisher just to keep those games exclusive to just your platform. The real exclusivity will come in the form of those games being available day and date in Game Pass.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Blu Lemmy

Boom!

Doom*

Originally Posted by Steelmaker

Big Dick move my MS for sure! Great timing too, one day before XSX preorders go live.

Now, I could be wrong but I have a sneaking suspicion that Bethesda games will continue to be made available everywhere, despite being owned by MS. You don't pay 7.5 Billion for a publisher just to keep those games exclusive to just your platform. The real exclusivity will come in the form of those games being available day and date in Game Pass.

I expect that is exactly what will happen. Game Pass boon for them and additional revenue stream from other platforms. Microsoft has proven they go where the money is.

[Gamma_Winstead]

Pretty gross that Microsoft continues to just purchase stuff due to their inability to create worthwhile IP on their own. Obviously this is a big deal, but Microsofts greed combined with Zenimax's greed leaves a pretty sour taste in my mouth thinking about their eventual combination. The micro transactions will blow us all away. I mean shit, they have 7.5 billion to recoup now.

[Kedrix]

Normally, I would be happy for Microsoft to get one of these little software companies that has done a good job for themselves and want to get to the next level. But Bethesda? They are awesome on their own and it just didn't feel necessary, I guess except for the people who took the 7.5 billion and ran. Here is hoping that nothing bad happens to any of these great properties and we can enjoy them for a very long time to come. But if we don't, I guess the old games will be available until the cows come home .

[Steelmaker]

I mean look, all is fair in gaming and war. I'm not about to sit here and criticize MS for making an investment in a publisher to strengthen their own stable of developers. If Sony or Nintendo had the money to do this, I'm sure they would have. Believe it or not, moves like this do not annoy me as much as when these companies buy timed exclusivity or exclusive content.

[JayTL]

Once again, this is just how things go.

Not sure how it's great when Sony does it (or tries to), but garbage when Microsoft does it.

I still think you'll see all these titles on multiple platforms still.

At the end of the day, what's the difference between a home grown studio like Santa Monica, or one being purchased? Sucker punch was purchased.

But yes, I know this site leans Sony (and that's fine!)

[Steelmaker]

Originally Posted by JayTL

Once again, this is just how things go.

Not sure how it's great when Sony does it (or tries to), but garbage when Microsoft does it.

I still think you'll see all these titles on multiple platforms still.

That's what I think too. MS is not about to spend 7.5 billion on a publisher like Zenimax just to keep those games walled off from other consoles. They're going to want to see a quick turnaround on their investment. If they felt the need to keep Minecraft on everything after only spending 1 billion Mojang, they sure as hell aren't going to keep these games only available on Xbox/PC. Like I said, the real exclusivity is going to come in the form of Game Pass. Play all these games day and date on Game Pass.

[Havok83]

Originally Posted by JayTL

Once again, this is just how things go.

Not sure how it's great when Sony does it (or tries to), but garbage when Microsoft does it.

I still think you'll see all these titles on multiple platforms still.

At the end of the day, what's the difference between a home grown studio like Santa Monica, or one being purchased? Sucker punch was purchased.

But yes, I know this site leans Sony (and that's fine!)

How many third party publishers has Sony purchased?

[JayTL]

Originally Posted by Havok83

How many third party publishers has Sony purchased?

12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ny_Corporation
Including: Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, & Sucker Punch

[Hayabusa85]

Originally Posted by JayTL

12
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ny_Corporation
Including: Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, & Sucker Punch

The correct answer to his question is zero.

[Kurri]

Originally Posted by Gamma_Winstead

Pretty gross that Microsoft continues to just purchase stuff due to their inability to create worthwhile IP on their own. Obviously this is a big deal, but Microsofts greed combined with Zenimax's greed leaves a pretty sour taste in my mouth thinking about their eventual combination. The micro transactions will blow us all away. I mean shit, they have 7.5 billion to recoup now.

Pretty gross? really? This is awesome news for Microsoft / Xbox. Personally, if Bethesda / Zenimax was going to sell, I wish Sony would have bought them as that is my console preference. As far as an acquisition this is huge. Makes gamepass even more desirable.