It’s a great time to be an Xbox gamer. We’ve got great games to look forward to and great consoles to let us play those games on. So what’s the next step? To take home a purchase of some great talent – and that is why Microsoft are looking to drop a cool $7.5 billion on Zenimax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks.
Publishing expertise, a games portfolio of the highest quality, and some of the best talent in the world make up what ZeniMax Media and Bethesda bring to the party and with Microsoft paying top dollar those qualities are getting ever more immersed into the Xbox life.
Bethesda have been behind the likes of The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Dishonored and many more great gaming names, and it’s obvious that is part of the draw for Microsoft and their latest acquisition. But this involvement will also now mean that they can push Bethesda’s future content straight out to Xbox Game Pass on the day they launch on Xbox and PC, with the highly anticipated space epic, Starfield, currently in development.
The addition of Bethesda will mean that Microsoft grows from 15, straight up to 23 creative studio teams as 2300 employees across Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios cash in.
“Gaming is the most expansive category in the entertainment industry, as people everywhere turn to gaming to connect, socialize and play with their friends,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Quality differentiated content is the engine behind the growth and value of Xbox Game Pass—from Minecraft to Flight Simulator. As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games, and together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide.”
“This is an awesome time to be an Xbox fan. In the last 10 days alone, we’ve released details on our two new consoles which go on pre-order tomorrow, launched cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and now we’re making another investment in the most critical part of our strategy: the games,” said Phil Spencer, executive vice president, Gaming at Microsoft. “Generations of gamers have been captivated by the renowned franchises in the Bethesda portfolio and will continue to be so for years to come as part of Xbox.”
Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media was founded in 1999 by Chairman and CEO Robert A. Altman and this change will see Bethesda’s structure and leadership will remain in place.
“This is a thrilling day for this company, our employees, and our fans. We have enjoyed a close partnership with Microsoft for decades, and this deal is a natural progression of those years working together,” said Altman. “The big winners today are our fans. We are continuing to develop our slate of AAA games, but now with Microsoft’s scale and entire Game Stack, our games can only get better.”
Does this latest purchase from Microsoft make you even more excited for what is to come as we head into the next generation of gaming with Xbox Series X | S? Let us know in the comments. And if you wish to know more, check out what Phil Spencer had to say.
