Microsoft: Microsoft acquires Bethesda Softworks in $7.5B deal
Microsoft has acquired ZeniMax Media and publisher Bethesda Softworks, the company announced Monday. Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, published a letter on Xbox Wire, welcoming the The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Doom, Dishonored, and Quake franchises, as well as Starfield and more, to Microsoft.
Microsoft has agreed to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Doom and Fallout studio Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion in cash. The acquisition follows earlier Bethesda games coming to Xbox Game Pass on console and PC, and it gives Microsoft control of upcoming games like the space epic Starfield. Microsoft says future Bethesda games, including Starfield, will launch on Xbox Game Pass the day they come to Xbox or PC.
As Microsoft prepares to launch two new consoles, so are the news reports, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S. The companies have not confirmed how this could affect the launch of specific future Bethesda games on various platforms — including Bethesda — the published Arkane game DeathLoop, previously announced as a timely PlayStation 5 and PC exclusive.
Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world. Our teams have a close and storied history working together, from the amazing first DOOM, and its id Tech engine, innovating games on PCs to Bethesda bringing their first console game to the original Xbox, the groundbreaking The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Over the years I’ve had many deep conversations with the creative leaders at Bethesda on the future of gaming and we’ve long shared similar visions for the opportunities for creators and their games to reach more players in more ways.
Microsoft will launch its next generation console on November 10 and will be open tomorrow. The acquisition brings Bethesda Sub-Studios such as Bethesda Developer Studio, Dolphinstein Studio MachineGame, Doom Maker ID Software, and Evil with Studio Studio GamWorks, bringing the total inventory of the company's internal studios to 23. However, Microsoft says that Bethesda will retain its current leadership.
“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,” wrote Bethesda marketing head Pete Hines in a statement.
Spencer said the acquisition is a “landmark step” for Microsoft. In a news release, Microsoft said it now has 23 “creative studio teams” — up from 15 — making games for Xbox and PC. Microsoft will add Bethesda’s games to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, too. Microsoft also intends to add future Bethesda games to Xbox Game Pass “the same day they launch on Xbox or PC,” specifically calling out Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield.
“One of the things that has me most excited is seeing the roadmap with Bethesda’s future games, some announced and many unannounced, to Xbox console and PC including Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios,” Spencer wrote.
Pete Hines, senior vice president of global marketing and communications at Bethesda, posted a separate letter on the developer’s website, outlining why Microsoft is a good fit for the company. Hines said the company has a “long history of working with Microsoft,” and will continue to make games as it always has.
“But the key point is we’re still Bethesda,” Hines wrote. “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.”
Hines added that the Microsoft acquisition will allow Bethesda more resources “to innovate” and “to grow.”
Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks unites the Fallout publisher and Fallout: New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment under the same company. Also of interest: Bethesda has two games slated as timed exclusives for Microsoft’s competitor, Sony. Published by Bethesda, Arkane Studios’ Deathloop and Tango Gameworks’ GhostWire: Tokyo are expected to be timed exclusives when they’re released on PlayStation 5 next year. Polygon has reached out to Microsoft for clarification.
Microsoft’s next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, will be released on Nov. 10. Pre-orders for the new Xbox consoles open Tuesday, Sept. 22.
