The software giant Microsoft acquires the game developer Bethesda and its parent company Zenimax. Affected are game brands like Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, and Dishonored. This has now been officially confirmed. Apparently, it is about the battle Xbox Series X vs. PS5. The purchase price is 7.5 billion US dollars.
This is the news: Jason Schreier announces on Twitter that Microsoft plans to take over Bethesda and Zenimax. This is a purchase that will shake the gaming industry.
It is about a sum of 7.5 billion US dollars – that is approximately 6.37 billion euros.
With this deal, Microsoft’s gaming brand, Xbox, would have ownership rights to some of the biggest game franchises in the world:
- from the SF epic Fallout
- from the fantasy world of The Elder Scrolls
- of the legendary shooter Doom
- from the “We shoot Nazis in the head” orgy Wolfenstein
- and from the action-adventure series Dishonored
How credible is this? Jason Schreier is regarded as a well-known and renowned gaming journalist who has access to major studios and makes headlines with his investigative reports.
He came to prominence when he published the confusing and chaotic development history of Destiny in 2015. Years later, Schreier revealed how badly the development of Anthem went.
He is also known to have good contacts with Bethesda. Schreier revealed that Fallout 76 would be an online game even before Bethesda disclosed further information.
When Schreier reports on something, the news has a high level of credibility.
Is it about exclusive titles for Xbox Series X vs. PS5?
What’s behind this: Recently, there have been increasing rumors that Microsoft plans to buy a major studio. Allegedly, Microsoft was interested in swallowing the Destiny studio Bungie. However, they denied the rumor.
It seems to be directly about the battle “PS5 vs. Xbox Series X”.
Xbox is frequently accused of offering too few exclusive titles compared to Sony. Especially after Halo Infinite was delayed, the Xbox Series X lacked strong launch titles.
The purchase of Bethesda could be a blow in this battle.
Some fun facts:
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) September 21, 2020
– This is 3x what Microsoft paid for Minecraft/Mojang
– Bethesda and Obsidian are now sister studios. Fallout New Vegas 2 is now actually a possibility
– Microsoft is now releasing two timed PS5 exclusives lol
As Schreier adds, Microsoft would now offer two games, Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, that were actually meant to be exclusive to the PS5 for a certain time. We will have to wait and see how the purchase of Bethesda affects these titles.
Microsoft confirms the deal
Update 15:17: This is official, as confirmed by Xbox.com (via news.xboc-com).
Phil Spencer warmly welcomes the teams behind The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Quake, Starfield, and more to Team Xbox.
It is said that Bethesda is a “talented group of 2300 employees worldwide” and has always had a special relationship with Microsoft.
The “iconic game brands” from Bethesda will be added to the Xbox Game Pass for PC and console. And they are already looking forward to bringing more games to Xbox and PC, including Starfield.
The purchase price of 7.5 billion US dollars has now also been confirmed. The press can find it in the official press release published by Bethesda (via bethesda.net).
Now PS5 players fear exclusive Bethesda games for Microsoft after this news.
At the same time that they welcome Bethesda, Microsoft is promoting its “Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.” It has already convinced some to take a closer look at the Xbox in 2020:
I was a PlayStation fan for my whole life – but now I will switch to Xbox
