Microsoft acquires Bethesda, swallowing DOOM, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout and more

Microsoft has confirmed that they have acquired ZeniMax Media, the company behind Bethesda Softworks. This move will bring all of Bethesda Softworks into the Xbox family, including developers like Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

This deal is reportedly worth $7.5 billion, which Microsoft will pay using its cash reserves, making this the biggest video game acquisition in the history of the industry. 

This acquisition brings nine developers under the Xbox Games Studios banner alongside franchises such as  The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, Quake, Starfield and more. In short, this acquisition will have a huge impact on the console gaming landscape, giving Microsoft a vast library of IP to play with. 

At this time, it is unknown how this deal will impact Bethesda’s existing “console exclusivity” agreements with Sony, which will see Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo as PlayStation 5 console exclusives at launch. 

Future Bethesda titles are now expected to be exclusive to Xbox and PC, removing a vast library of future games from Sony’s PlayStation consoles. That said, it is probable that all currently announced PlayStation 5 games from the publisher will still come to the system, as Microsoft has honoured the platform commitments of all of their recently acquired studios so far.

With this acquisition, PlayStation fans can no longer state that “Xbox Has no Games”. Now, Xbox fans can ask PlayStation users if they will be getting the next Elder Scrolls, Fallout, or DOOM release. To say that this acquisition is a game-changer for Microsoft is an understatement.  
  

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