In what will likely be considered the biggest marketing move of 2020, Microsoft announced they will be purchasing Zenimax Media better known as the parent company of Elder Scrolls and Fallout makers Bethesda.
The move comes just one day before pre-orders begin for the next-generation Microsoft Xbox console the Xbox Series X/S.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) on Monday announced plans to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, one of the largest, privately held game developers and publishers in the world. Creators of critically acclaimed and best-selling gaming franchises including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout among many others, Bethesda brings an impressive portfolio of games, technology, talent, as well as a track record of blockbuster commercial success, to Xbox. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash.
With unique investments in content, community, and the cloud, Microsoft’s gaming strategy differs from others by empowering people to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want. Games are the primary growth engine in gaming, and games are fueling new cloud-gaming services like Xbox Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 15 million subscribers. 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. This includes Microsoft’s intent to bring Bethesda’s future games into Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or PC, like Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios. -Press Release Bethesda/Microsoft
While the deal still needs to be approved by regulatory committees, both parties are going forward with the new direction of Bethesda as Xbox announced all of Bethesda’s future games would come to Xbox Game Pass on their day one release. There are still big questions to be answered such as the console future of previously announced PS5 exclusives “Deathloop” and “Ghost Wire: Tokyo”. It also remains to be seen what support for existing Bethesda service games such as Fallout 76 will be. Microsoft currently owns the Minecraft brand which is spread across every gaming platform giving the tech giant an established history of playing nice with competitors.
This is undoubtedly a huge acquisition for Microsoft as it bumps them up to 23 total first-party studios with the potential to create exclusive content for the Xbox platform in the years to come. It also gives them control over several IP with diehard fanbases that have just shifted their next gaming console choice. Skyrim, Fallout, Doom, just to name a few; are franchises that have only augmented Bethesda’s worth over the past 15 years. Xbox bringing Bethesda’s next iterations exclusive to the Microsoft platform forces their fans on the fence to buy the next Xbox or jump into PC gaming. It looks like the beginning of next-generation console wars will be about who gets the biggest studios in their portfolio.
