Published , by Donovan Erskine
Published , by Donovan Erskine
After getting government clearance, Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax and Bethesda is set in stone. Microsoft released a statement officially welcoming Bethesda to the Microsoft family, where they spoke in detail about the purchase. In this statement, Microsoft confirms that some Bethesda games will be exclusive to Xbox/PC.
A post was made to Xbox Wire on March 9 to officially announce the completion of the Bethesda acquisition. In this post, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer talks about what the deal means for both Bethesda and Microsoft, even touching on the topic of potentially exclusive games. “With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players,” Spencer states.
That last line would seemingly confirm that Microsoft does indeed plan to have some Bethesda games go exclusive to Xbox and PC. Ever since we first learned that Microsoft would be acquiring Zenimax and Bethesda last year, it’s been a hot subject of debate whether or not Microsoft would go exclusive with all of its newly acquired IP, or continue to publish Bethesda games across multiple platforms.
Just for a refresher, this acquisition means that the likes of Bethesda Game Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, and id Software are all first-party Xbox Game Studios. With franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, and more in its arsenal, it will be interesting to see how Phil Spencer and company choose to operate over the next few years. We already know that the upcoming Deathloop will still launch as a PS5 exclusive as result of a pre-existing deal, but what about the highly-anticipated Starfield? Could Bethesda’s brand new sci-fi RPG be an Xbox/PC exclusive?
Microsoft’s statement also confirms something that many of us had been suspecting - that a slew of Bethesda games will be coming to Xbox Game Pass. With such an emphasis on its subscription service, of course Microsoft will put some of its hot new properties on Game Pass. There are already some available, but more Bethesda games will join Xbox Game Pass later this week, and will be revealed soon.
With Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax and Bethesda now official, we look forward to seeing what future projects the two do together. For more news and updates, stick with us here on Shacknews.