Upon finalization, a number of famous game titles will be added to the Microsoft cloud gaming service
Earlier this week, Microsoft reached a deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of well-known video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion. The acquisition has taken the game world by storm as it’s one of the largest ever in the industry.
Upon finalization, which is expected in the second half of 2021, Microsoft will claim ownership of some of the most famous games ever developed including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Quake, Starfield and DOOM. This means that these titles will be added to Microsoft’s cloud gaming service Xbox Game Pass, giving the company a massive lead over its cloud gaming competitors.
Microsoft articulated its approach to cloud gaming, stating in a press released that “games are the primary growth engine in gaming,” and giving players access to the games they really want to play is what really “fuels” new cloud gaming services.
“With the addition of Bethesda, Microsoft will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams and will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass,” the release continued. “This includes Microsoft’s intent to bring Bethesda’s future games into Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or PC.”
In 2014, Microsoft purchased Mojang, the company that develop the popular crafting game Minecraft in a deal that amounted to only a third of the Bethesda acquisition at $2.5 billion.
Pete Hines, Bethesda’s senior vice president of PR and marketing, in a blog post on the company’s website, acknowledged that some gamers might have questions, even concerns about what this means for the future of Bethesda games, with some gamers fearing that the deal could mean that future Bethesda games would depart from its current pattern of making games available on multiple platforms, and instead newly developed games would be exclusive to Xbox and PC.
“We’re still Bethesda,” he offered. “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.”
“[The deal] allows us to make even better games going forward,” he added. “Microsoft is an incredible partner and offers access to resources that will make us a better publisher and developer.”
In somewhat related news, Microsoft was also vying to acquire TikTok, but ended up losing that battle to Oracle and Walmart.
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