Implications of Bethesda/Zenimax acquisition by Microsoft

That means Bethseda Softwork are going to get kicked in the ass to release their next games.

Microsoft went after AA independent studios. Zenimax is a AAA publisher. This is just insane. They basically doubled their XBox Pass offering with just them.


Also, maybe we need a Microsoft sub-forum now? InXile, Obsidian...and soon Zenimax (if it goes through the legislators).

A couple of takeaways with this:

1) This is definitely a huge boon for Microsofts Gamepass library, and I'm assuming Microsoft fully expects this deal to pay itself off very handsomely in the future. Considering how many sales are made from Fallout and TES games alone, this will likely be a huge revenue booster for Microsoft.

2) With the deficiencies Xbox has in certain genres, especially RPGs, this is a big advantage for them in the long run. What makes me more curious is whether this means Obsidian (now an Xbox studio) is in a position now to make another Fallout game.

3) I wonder if the Doom series creates a potential hotspot between it and the Halo franchise. Gears of War is a more cover-based, third person shooter, so there were never any concerns there. But another heavy weight in the 1st person genre, as another contender no less, might end up putting a lot of pressure on 343i. Maybe this could also be a good thing.

4) Microsoft doesnt seem to be pressing as heavily on party exclusives, though they still keep their closest franchises (Halo, Gears, etc) to their chest; for a time at least. Will any newly released Bethesda titles fall under strict exclusivity guidelines, or will they be made free to all platforms at release. Though they may be 1st party titles, Microsoft (and the studios) would still be served well if those games were released across all platforms.

5) One thing I'm curious about is whether these studios will continue to use their in-house engines, or if Microsoft will start to consolidate the amount of engines used by these studios. I dont know how many of them were licensed from other companies (I think Unreal is the only one that I can think of), but they may decide to have some of these studios move towards only a few licensed engines.

6) I hope the continued acquisition of studios - by Microsoft - doesn't come to bite these newly purchased studios in the ass.

It was more to do with new RPGs. They [Microsoft] dont have much on their plate as a launch title. Yes, Gamepass adds to the repertoire (this acquisition being more so), but not having any 1st party RPGs they're able to have for launch sucks.

I've been involved with enough company takeovers to know that the following sentiments are subtly flawed:

"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." - Pete Hines.

A company that is sold has lost it's control, however much the new owners say 'you carry on doing you...'

When push comes to shove, if the new company division doesn't perform or does dumb stuff, the new owners can own any changes they see fit.

You can't sell your cake and eat it.

MS closed down almost all its studios in 2016 except for Rare (who made the extremely popular Sea of Thieves since), BigPark (Kinect) and Mojang (Minecraft), because the execs didn't believe in making games anymore. It wasn't just a Lionhead thing.

A year later, there was a reorganization and Phil Spencer became in charge of every gaming related things. He sold the gaming subscription model to the execs and got the budget to buy new studios. Since 2016, Microsoft went from 3 studio to 13. With Bethesda they will have 23.

Something I'm curious about, when it comes to future TES and Fallout titles (maybe even Starfield), is how this move will affect modding capabilities on the Xbox One. Will Microsoft allow Bethesda to have more usable space for modding on console (>5Gb)? Will they also consider allowing for more usable modding space in Skyrim or Fallout 4. Fallout 4 only allows 2Gbs compared to Skyrims 5.

The mere existence of 76 does leave serious concerns though, much like Anthem, coming from BioWare’s core team, is similar. I’d say the only reason 76 even got any kind of pass is because Bethesda’s notoriety for releasing games buggier than a Florida picnic is a long running gag. 

I believe it comes down to the Bethesda brand name still sells games even if they have their bad publicity. I know 76 was a mess, and heck even I bought it on launch but I haven't touched it since.

That said I enjoyed FO4, ESO (which I still play), DOOM (I know they publish for this one but it's still going to be under their banner). I'm looking forward to starfield and the next elder scrolls game and I know a lot of others are. I believe Bethesda still has huge value and potential to them, and microsoft is thinking they can take advantage of it I'd wager. Maybe it blows up in their face, but I'm pretty optimistic on this partnership honestly because I've disliked how Zenimax ran things for a while now.

I'm hoping for this since I've no interest in Bethesda games; Elderscrolls, FO, etc. I definitely want another Dishonored title even though Death of the Outsider did not stand up that well to Dishonored I and II in terms of narrative and game play. The devs did say a follow up will not be set in the Emily Kaldwin Imperial era so I'm immensely curious where they would take it if they have the chance. Here's hoping they get that chance.

Phil could have just plainly stated that most of Beth's future releases will be on Xbox, and PC. With his roundabout answer he seemed like a greased eel trying to crawl out of Richard Gere's ass, but relented after realizing that they're in the middle of the Mojave desert. That was shameful.

Yet it was completely fine when Playstation had their exclusives.