Microsoft has acquired one of the most accomplished game studios in the industry named Bethesda Softworks. In an acquisition deal, Microsoft will overtake the parent company ZeniMax Media in a deal worth $7.5B, according to Polygon.
Microsoft announced this deal on Xbox Wire, stating details about this arrangement and future of critically acclaimed games like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Quake, Starfield and more. The official announcement reads:
“Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world. 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.”
Bethesda Softworks posted their seperate article announcing the commencement of this deal. The article summarises the journey of the studios till now and why both of these companies are a “perfect fit” . While the studio is being acquired, Pete Hines, senior vice president of global marketing and communications at Bethesda wrote “..But the key point is we’re still Bethesda. We’re still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us.”
Microsoft now has 23 “creative studio teams” developing games for console and PC. Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox said that the acquisition is a landmark step for the team and according to Polygon, he states that “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.” Furthermore, the games developed by Bethesda Softworks will be added to Xbox Games Pass.
