Microsoft Acquisition of Bethesda Approved by EU - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 08 March 2021 / 1,472 Views
It was reported on Friday the US Securities and Exchange Commission on March 5 approved the filing for Microsoft to acquire Bethesda Softwork's parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion.
The European Commission has now also approved Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media as the deal and it can now be finalized.
"The Commission concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given the combined entity’s limited market position upstream and the presence of strong downstream competitors in the distribution of video games," said the European Commission in a statement. "The transaction was examined under the normal merger review procedure."
ZeniMax co-owner Providence Equity has moved ZeniMax from "Active" to "Realized" on its website. Providence Equity CIO Michael J. Dominguez profile page no longer lists him as a ZeniMax board member and says he is a former director of the video game publisher.
Once the deal is finalized, Microsoft's first-party Xbox studios will grow from 15 to 23, as ZeniMax Media includes eight developers. The list includes Fallout and The Elder Scrolls developer Bethesda Softworks, Doom developer id Software, Wolfenstein developer MachineGames, as well as Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks, ZeniMax Online Studios, Roundhouse Studios, and Alpha Dog Games.
It was previously reported that video game insider NateDrake said Bethesda is hoping to launch its next game, Starfield, later this year. However, the ongoing pandemic might impact the release of the game and it could be delayed to early 2022.
Thanks, The Verge.
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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I'm stoked about this. With MS going full in on GamePass I can see all these studios getting some freedom to experiment with new game ideas while still having their franchises.
i have to disagree... GP is about "gaming as a Service" and this is connected with microtransactions and other monetization models. It's simples, GP is made to gather a Large number of players and microtransactions make the real money.
Sure, it's possible for GP to generate money with a great number of users paying full price, but, imho, the real potetial here is on microtransactions.
Question: Why does the EU get a say if one American company can buy another? Is it a simple case of avoiding an enforcement fine?
And because the EU has approved it... Other countries that adhere to EU standards/policies and so forth generally follow suit.
I.E. Australia, New Zealand and many Asian-Pacific nations.
US and the EU are definitely the important two.
thanks i'll have a look into those cases.
Same as others have said it's mainly cross holdings across trading blocs an example two of those studios are European , but the main thing is most jurisdictions have a acquisition /merger size threshold that means they automatically review those, so it isn't always done because of major concerns and this seems to fit that scenario, about enforcement in this case they can't stop the merger but could have excluded those European studios and put import controls in place.
