The software giant Microsoft has purchased the game studio Bethesda. Many fans of Bethesda’s famous game series, especially PlayStation players, are worried about this. However, MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus finds the acquisition fantastic as a Fallout fan.
What actually happened? In short: Yesterday, on September 22, Microsoft acquired Bethesda for 7.5 billion US dollars. This means that some of the most famous franchises are now under Microsoft’s flag:
- The Elder Scrolls
- Fallout
- Wolfenstein
- DOOM
- Dishonored
The announcement sparked great discussions among players. Among other things, they were concerned about what this would mean for these franchises and their future.
I am a big fan of all these game series – except Dishonored – and have spent many hours playing each game. And as a fan, I say: I am incredibly excited about what is to come!
Fallout: New Vegas 2 is finally an option
Why is the acquisition so good? My first thought after hearing the news yesterday was: Nice, the next Fallout will be really good. And there are two reasons for that:
- with Microsoft, a bigger, stronger publisher is backing Bethesda
- Fallout: New Vegas 2 could be revealed as one of the upcoming projects
Why exactly New Vegas 2? Because Obsidian, the studio that made New Vegas, also belongs to Microsoft.
Thus, Bethesda and Obsidian are sister studios, and collaboration is quite conceivable.
I don’t believe that a New Vegas 2 will be the next Fallout, but I now have high hopes that Microsoft, Bethesda, and Obsidian are working on something in this direction.
Although I personally preferred Fallout 3 and even fell in love with Fallout 76, New Vegas was undoubtedly fantastic. Some of the best NPCs in Fallout history come from there.
Because of this option, but also because of Microsoft itself, every Fallout fan should be excited about the news of the acquisition.
Why is Microsoft a strong publisher? Although Microsoft is probably only known to many as the maker of the Windows operating system, the company is also the developer or publisher behind many major games and franchises, such as
- Halo
- Forza
- Age of Empires
- Fable
- Gears of War
Recently, Microsoft achieved great success with the new Flight Simulator 2020 as well as the new survival game Grounded. Both games were very well received by players.
With Microsoft behind Bethesda, I see the opportunity for large projects like Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls VI to be completed successfully. After all, the quality in the aforementioned games has (mostly) been extremely high.
Bethesda in Game Pass? Yes, please!
This is another advantage: My second thought after the news focused on Game Pass. With Bethesda as a new addition to Microsoft, this means that both classics and new releases from the studio will appear there sooner or later.
For relatively little money a month, I can play new games from the studio that has created some of my favorite games, even if the price will be rising soon.
I would particularly look forward to catching up on Fallout 1, 2, and Brotherhood of Steel, which I unfortunately missed back then.
That’s why the Game Pass is now really worthwhile: Even before the acquisition of Bethesda, the Game Pass was becoming increasingly attractive – since the announcement that EA Play will be included in Game Pass. Now an even larger array of top-tier games is being added.
This will be particularly interesting with an eye on the upcoming next-gen consoles. After all, the Game Pass will come for the Xbox Series X. The new Xbox Series X and S can already be pre-ordered since today, September 22.
While I am primarily a PC player, I will probably also buy the new consoles. The Series X is becoming increasingly attractive with the new Game Pass and all the possible content.
But what about the PlayStation 5?
This is what players fear: Especially PlayStation gamers are concerned about the acquisition of Bethesda and despite my excitement about it, I can fully understand that. After all, the purchase may mean that many of the upcoming Bethesda titles will not or will only come later to the PS5.
In a new statement, the Xbox chief also expressed further doubts about whether these titles will make it (at release) to the PlayStation 5. Many players fear: No, they will not.
Will it really turn out this way? Personally, I don’t think that Microsoft will limit the development of Fallout 5 and TES 6 and stop PS5 versions. There are several reasons for this:
- Microsoft’s philosophy is that everyone should be able to play. Any limitation would contradict that.
- When acquiring Mojang, Minecraft did not suddenly disappear from PlayStation.
- With Game Pass, Microsoft has such a good offer that exclusivity isn’t even necessary.
Moreover, Microsoft as a publisher earns from the sales of new games. Whether it really makes sense to exclude a large group of gamers for exclusivity must be weighed by the company itself. However, I don’t suspect that this will be the case.
However, a survey here on MeinMMO showed that your interest in an Xbox is stronger than ever. What this means for a possible exclusivity of upcoming titles remains to be seen.
As a PC player, I have the advantage of Game Pass anyway, even without a new console. And as a Fallout fan, I find the new development fantastic and look forward to what is coming next.
