Microsoft Acquires Bethesda Softworks Parent Company ZeniMax for $7.5 Billion - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 21 September 2020 / 6,500 Views
Microsoft has announced they have acquired Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion. Xbox Game Studios will grow from 15 to 23 studios. Also revealed is Game Pass has reached 15 million subscribers.
The list of acquired studios includes Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios with over 2,300 employees. The teams are known for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, Quake, Starfield, and many more.
The goal is to release Bethesda's future games on Xbox Game Pass on the same day they launch on Xbox and PC, like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI.
Microsoft plans to honor the Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo PlayStation exclusivity deals. However, Future Bethesda games will be on Xbox, PC, and "other consoles on a case by case basis."
"Gaming is the most expansive category in the entertainment industry, as people everywhere turn to gaming to connect, socialize and play with their friends," said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. "Quality differentiated content is the engine behind the growth and value of Xbox Game Pass—from Minecraft to Flight Simulator. As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games, and together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide."
"Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world," said the head of Xbox 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.
"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."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Holy shit. That's huge.
This is the first time... the first time the argument "Microsoft is rich, they can just buy everything ..." really took shape ... I wonder how Playstation can beat this?
I'm truly stunned.
You must have missed the USDOJ threatening time break up Microsoft for predatory behavior back when Netscape was still a thing.
If people think MS is out of the gaming industry they should think again.
It would be nice if they were. They turn everything they touch to shit.
Wow. Unlike some ppl here, i think they will keep Doom, TES, Fallout and rest PC/Xbox only. I dont see any point paying that much much money to keep them on all platforms . Either way i am good whatever they do since i am going full PC from now on with maybe only ps5 buy at the end of gen.
Yep. Microsoft is getting out its checkbook to cock-block Sony and Nintendo again.
It's a chance this could hurt the gaming industry as a whole in the long run. However I like the fact the Microsoft is flexing their $1 trillion dollar net worth at Sony. A Sony that's under pressure is one that fights back hard. This'll push Sony even more to outdo Microsoft and Nintendo, which that benfits us gamers I feel :)
From IGN, possibly alluding to games still being multi-platform: While avoiding any specifics, Todd Howard also alluded to the idea of exclusives indicating, perhaps that Bethesda would not be limited to the Xbox ecosystem: "Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen. 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."
Wow I did not expect that.
Damn that's big news. Will be interesting to see how this plays out in terms of multiplatform vs exclusive titles.
Fallout new vegas sequel and more games coming to gamepass?!
where are all the people who said the microsoft warchest was not real lmao, they're a trillion dollar company and phil managed to convince them gaming was important again, shit like this was always possible after that
Can we PLEASE get remasters for Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas?
Dude GG.
Damn,that's a lot of exclusives not being on sony consoles.
This is huge...I love this decision imagine when doom does its esports games they'll be promoting series x from now on....since Sony decided to be greedy withe the final fantasy timed exclusive maybe MS should do the same with elders scrolls 6 lol
Well this is a bit unexpected and unsure how this will pan out. Seems unlikely franchises like Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Doom will become Xbox exclusives. More likely they’ll go down similar routes to Minecraft and Ori & Will of the Wisps.
ok, depending how this pan out it the future; XBSX maybe my second console this gen.
Idk maybe if your desperate enough...... all you really need is Xboxgame pass.
That's definitely huge but I never cared for their games thankfully phew
Thankfully Fallout 76 and to a lesser degree Fallout 4 killed my interest in that series. Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and Shin Megami Tensei are all better games than anything Bethesda has ever made.
i agree with u,
only games i was intrested in was dishonored, picked up dishonored 2 and it was meh samey samey,
the evil within 1/2 are decent but they wont be missed lol
As I said before, Microsoft is aiming at Sony this time around. HUGE NEWS. I'm curious how Sony will respond to this
Wow... Microsft really step up in a big way to start this generation. So hype to pre-order tomorrow!!!!
Microsoft is coming for it. I'm happy to see that Microsoft won't let Sony win 9th gen without a fight. I still feel the Sony PS5 will outsell the Microsoft Series X but it won't be as easy now.
I’m shook as fuck
it may well have to do with the rumour that was going around about Sony buying bethesda and MS trumped them.
So will this be the start of the buyout of medium-sized gaming companies, not just indies, by the big boys? Which one will be the next?
Poor Bethesda
Smart move by MS. Bethesda produces a lot of singleplayer games which is where MS is a bit weaker. Of course the implications for gaming are mind-boggling and it will now be really interesting to see sales figures with Bethesda's huge titles under Xbox. Lets hope that MS keeps its itchy fingers off them and doesnt try to fit in GAAS or microtransactions into all Bethesda's IPs.
Did you miss Fallout 76? Bethesda was already on board with GAAS and MTX. Bethesda was already giving up on single-player games.
Great timing with a new gen coming. Now MS should put all the Bethesda games on Gamepass soon. Ideally the Doom Eternal like today.
Buy Konami next Microsoft.
Well it's a good thing i have a PC. Although Besthesda games have been dropping in quality so i'm not sure it even matters.
PS5 is doomed :p
I wonder if Sony will continue to lock games up with timed deals and FF16, knowing that now MS have a lot of monster IPs, that they could do the same with, or they take the foot off the pedal and allow games on everything.
Why would MS bother to release games like TES and Fallout on PS5 sure they miss some sales. But most PS5 gamers have a pc.
Its just how MS have been working lately, they see it more as buisness than competition. There are MS games on Switch and PS4, why would they change?
Oracle got TikTok! Microsoft got Bethesda. I'm okay with that :)
Games will remain Multiplatform apparently.
Yes, my guess is that most of the games releases by those studios in the future will heavily favor XBox and PS.
May that be timed exclusivity, free DLC vs. paid DLC or just additional content overall.
Yes, my guess is that most of the games releases by those studios in the future will heavily favor XBox and PS.
May that be timed exclusivity, free DLC vs. paid DLC or just additional content overall.
They'll remain multi-plat for "now." That's the key word here. Microsoft gets the final word in all this. But seeing as how they acquired Mojang and Minecraft is still on Nintendo and Sony platforms, I don't think Microsoft will be compete assholes xD But damn. This changes everything. Is Sony sweating right now? I doubt it. Are they cautiously eyeing Microsoft? You're damn right.
This is just too much. All its doing is indirectly killing the console industry. If more games start going Xbox/PC what would be the point in buying a console? Right now there are no true exclusives for the Xbox. Certain games won't be on the playstation and the PC version will inherently be better then the xbox version. I can't tell who started it first but these tit for tat third party exclusive deals are going to fuck the industry.
I can understand timed exclusive stuff a la FF16 or back when MS got Tomb Raider for a year as well but buying out the whole company with tons of noteworthy IPs... yeah thats another level i haven't seen yet.
not a huge fan,
so not a loss for me,
if sony purchased bethesda they will get bashed,
but if xbox purchased em all the praise ey?
double standard hahaha!
This move really seems to me that they were desperate. But I get it.
RIP Sony. GGWP.
Or Skype or Nokia.
