Gaming Microsoft buys Zenimax | 9th March: Bethesda games officially joins Microsoft. Unlucky Afro.

Bojan11

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https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/...mpany-of-bethesda-id-software-and-more-report


Microsoft buying Zenimax, parent company of Bethesda, id Software and more for $7.5bn
Elder Scrolls! Fallout! Wolfenstein! Doom! Quake!

News by Tom Phillips, News Editor
Updated on 21 September 2020
In a monumental acquisition that shakes up the gaming landscape, Microsoft has announced it will acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, id Software, Arkane Studios, MachineGames and Tango Gameworks.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW

The news was broken publicly this afternoon by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, seconds before Microsoft made it official.
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Xbox boss Phil Spencer announced the news this afternoon in a blog post welcoming the long list of ZeniMax studios to Microsoft's own family of Xbox Game Studios.
"As one of the largest, most critically acclaimed, privately held game developers and publishers in the world, Bethesda is an incredibly talented group of 2300 people worldwide," Spencer wrote, "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."
Spencer stopped short of saying future games will be exclusive, but said he was looking forward to the company's array of upcoming games launching on PC and Xbox consoles.








"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," he said, "including Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios."
Zenimax's games will also join Xbox Game Pass for console and PC.
"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," Bethesda's Todd Howard said in a statementtoday.

We can't think of a better group of people to do that with than those at Xbox. We have friendships that go back to those original days. From Phil to his senior leaders to developer support, they don't just talk about putting players first, they passionately live it."
 
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Solius

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Well playing Fallout and TES was fun while it lasted.
 

Coxy

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Well playing Fallout and TES was fun while it lasted.
Think they will continue to do that. I can see new IP being xbox only - but established franchises still being on PS.

Look at Minecraft. They will want all of the money to recoup the cost of purchase! At least for a while...
 

Cloud7

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Goddammit I hope this doesn't affect Fallout and Elder Scrolls on Playstation
 

Bojan11

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Think they will continue to do that. I can see new IP being xbox only - but established franchises still being on PS.

Look at Minecraft. They will want all of the money to recoup the cost of purchase! At least for a while...
Nah, I think they will put them on Xbox and PC. Xbox has lacked exclusive games for people to buy one. But now it’s got a whole big reason to buy one or gamepass.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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Skyrim is easily my most played game and I just love the elder scrolls series so will be pretty gutted if it’s only on Xbox but then again Microsoft would have done what they needed too as I’d deffo get one.
 

Alock1

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Wow. That is fecking huge.
 

pacifictheme

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Skyrim is easily my most played game and I just love the elder scrolls series so will be pretty gutted if it’s only on Xbox but then again Microsoft would have done what they needed too as I’d deffo get one.
At one stage I may have felt the same but I am not sure the new tes will manage to keep up with other open world games. The last fallout was woeful.
 

Ubik

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Played a ton of Skyrim but it's such a dead world that I don't really care if follow-ups aren't on PS. Really love Dishonored though, so will be slightly gutted about that.
 

Igor Drefljak

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Fallout 3 and New Vegas are two of my faves. Fallout 4 was a bag of shit.
I thought Fallout 4 was good. I agree Vegas (The best) and 3 were better, but I think 4 got a lot of stick, especially due to certain elements, like speech, but it was still a good game to play.
 

TrustInJanuzaj

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At one stage I may have felt the same but I am not sure the new tes will manage to keep up with other open world games. The last fallout was woeful.
Fallout doesn’t come close to Tes anyway for me controversially so I still think it will be in a league of its own. Bethesda for their many many faults are still excellent when it comes to world building and they will know that they have to deliver big on the next scrolls.
 

Coxy

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Nah, I think they will put them on Xbox and PC. Xbox has lacked exclusive games for people to buy one. But now it’s got a whole big reason to buy one or gamepass.
Can see them being timed exclusives perhaps - and certainly on Game Pass for 'free' as Phil has said - but not excluding Playstation completely. They paid over 2 billion for Minecraft but kept it multi platform. No way are they spending 7 billion and then not keeping it multi platform either - they don't exactly need the money - but they aren't going to throw it away either.

In a few years though? Yeah then they will go exclsuive.
 

JPRouve

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Can’t remember which one I tried but just found it very ‘meh’ and never had any inclination to go back to it. Will look into the two you mention.
You need to mod the living hell out of it.
 

Bojan11

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Can see them being timed exclusives perhaps - and certainly on Game Pass for 'free' as Phil has said - but not excluding Playstation completely. They paid over 2 billion for Minecraft but kept it multi platform. No way are they spending 7 billion and then not keeping it multi platform either - they don't exactly need the money - but they aren't going to throw it away either.

In a few years though? Yeah then they will go exclsuive.
Yeah the games that are nearly finished they will be on PS5. But future games, I just don’t see it. It’s MS biggest chance to get PS5 users to buy one of their consoles or gamepass.
 

EwanI Ted

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That’s big. TES is the kind of game to influence which console people buy. Fallout, Doom, Dishonoured etc aren’t quite that big, but are definitely games that’ll significantly enhance Microsoft’s lacklustre first party line up.
 

Siorac

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I hope we're not headed towards a future when every game is owned by either Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, or EA. The first three will push for platform exclusives all the time while EA are... well, they're EA, I don't have to explain this, do I?
 

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Looking forward to the return of Games for Windows Live
 

Pexbo

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Could never get into Fallout
Same. I think it’s because I played it after Skyrim and it just felt like I was playing Skyrim with a different skin.
 

Coxy

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Yeah the games that are nearly finished they will be on PS5. But future games, I just don’t see it. It’s MS biggest chance to get PS5 users to buy one of their consoles or gamepass.
If that was the case they'd come out and say that - they are being elusive on purpose.
 

stu_1992

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RIP to the "play Skyrim on every device memes". Huge deal though, wonder if will make some reconsider their PS5 pre-orders?
 

b82REZ

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This would have been more impactful a decade a go. Bethesda have been shit since Skyrim, DOOM notwithstanding.
 

Bojan11

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RIP to the "play Skyrim on every device memes". Huge deal though, wonder if will make some reconsider their PS5 pre-orders?
Not now as next elder scrolls and Starfield are a while off. By that time, Series X will have dropped price.
 

Siorac

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That’s big. TES is the kind of game to influence which console people buy. Fallout, Doom, Dishonoured etc aren’t quite that big, but are definitely games that’ll significantly enhance Microsoft’s lacklustre first party line up.
Fallout is every bit as big as Elder Scrolls; Fallout 4 broke all sorts of records and initially sold better than Skyrim did.

Of course, Bethesda wasted a lot of that hype and goodwill with Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 being less than stellar.
 

Ødegaard

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Bugthesda never had anything proper fun anyway.
I do hope they start producing some quality stuff for next gen though, especially as it will come to pc anyway.
 

Bojan11

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Zenimax's key studios are building massively anticipated titles including The Elder Scrolls VI, a mysterious sci-fi title known as Starfield, Wolfenstein III, and more. Zenimax was also building timed exclusives for PlayStation 5, in the form of Deathloop and Tokyo: Ghostwire, which will now presumably come to Xbox as well. Microsoft will likely honor the commitment of those games to also come to PlayStation 5, similarly to how they honored commitments with The Outer Worlds after purchasing Obsidian.
 

VeevaVee

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Has a Disney buying fox feel to it, not sure it’s good for the industry but we’ll see.
It’s bad for consumers, like all exclusivity. But feck it, I’ve heard enough from the PS spiceboys over the years about their exclusives. I hope they don’t get a sniff :lol: