Microsoft just bought the massive video game publisher behind game franchises like ‘DOOM,’ ‘Fallout,’ and ‘The Elder Scrolls’ in a major coup that cost $7.5 billion
DOOM #DOOM
Microsoft is buying the massive game publisher behind major franchises like “Fallout,” “The Elder Scrolls,” and “DOOM” in a deal worth $7.5 billion in cash, the company said in a press release on Monday.
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The deal, for conglomerate ZeniMax Media and its games publisher Bethesda Softworks, incorporates several major video game development studios under Microsoft’s Xbox Studios umbrella, as well as the major game franchises they oversee.
Bethesda Softworks oversees studios id Software (“DOOM”), Bethesda Game Studios (“Fallout,” “The Elder Scrolls,” “Starfield”), Arkane Studios (“Dishonored,” “Deathloop”), and MachineGames (“Wolfenstein”).
“As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in the press release. “And together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide.”
The announcement comes just one day before pre-orders on Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox consoles go live. The Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X are scheduled to arrive this November, and this acquisition is intended to make the new consoles more enticing to potential buyers.
All of the games included in the deal will head to Microsoft’s gaming subscription service, Xbox Game Pass. Moreover, upcoming games from those studios will launch on Game Pass.
“This [deal] includes Microsoft’s intent to bring Bethesda’s future games into Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or PC,” the press release said, “like ‘Starfield,’ the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.”
Microsoft has purchased several game studios starting with the Swedish studio behind “Minecraft” in 2014 for $2.5 billion, and has continued its acquisition spree in the years since.
Notably, Bethesda Softworks publishes games across both Microsoft and Sony’s gaming platforms. It is unclear whether future games from the publisher will still come to Sony’s PlayStation consoles. A Microsoft spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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