Incredible news as Microsoft announces the acquisition of ZeniMax Media. It’s the parent company of Bethesda Softworks and consists of an insane number of highly-acclaimed game developers and intellectual properties.
Today is a special day… We are THRILLED to welcome the talented teams and beloved game franchises of @Bethesda to Team Xbox!
Read the full announce from @XboxP3: https://t.co/Jn0HcTJ9Mi pic.twitter.com/iQVutgT6zq
— Xbox (@Xbox) September 21, 2020
Just moments ago did Microsoft share the humongous news vie their official Xbox blog. Make no mistake, this is far from just another company purchase. The acquisition of ZeniMax Media will have immense ramifications in the console wars for many years.
Microsoft has been greatly expanding their first-party line-up with several high-profile studios across the globe. Double Fine, Obsidian, inXile, Ninja Theory, etc. pale however compared to what this single purchase brings with itself. Here’s the list of studios that are now part of the Xbox Game Studios.
- Bethesda Game Studios
- id Software
- ZeniMax Online Studios
- Arkane
- MachineGames
- Tango Gameworks
- Alpha Dog
- Roundhouse Studios
It’s a crazy list of some of the best talents in the gaming industry. The deal gets only crazier when you remember just how many great IPs were packed under ZeniMax Media. The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Quake, Prey, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Starfield, and much more.
With just one – albeit massive – deal Microsoft has now managed to stand toe to toe with Sony in terms of console exclusives. Just imagine that the next Elder Scrolls and Fallout titles, or Bethesda’s highly-anticipated space-RPG Starfield will not be available on the PlayStation 5 and only on the Xbox Series.
Seeing how huge the ZeniMax deal is it comes as no surprise that it didn’t come Microsoft cheap. The company allegedly paid $7.5 Billion to make it happen. An insane investment that Microsoft and Xbox will surely try to leverage to its most. While the news comes as a huge blow for PlayStation gamers, at least PC users can rest assured to still be able to play their favorite games on PC, seeing how Microsoft has embraced the PC platform in recent years.
