Everyone thinks of the disputes between consoles after the takeover of Activision and Bethesda (Zenimax) by Microsoft. Part of the public debate is about whether or not certain franchises will be exclusive, some think Americans will give in and some legendary games will eventually come to Playstation and others the opposite.
It is normal and understandable that this is what is being watched the most right now. Ultimately, this is what most directly affects users whether or not a certain game stays on their console. However, there are two unseen quiet gains that may be part of what prompted those in Redmond to make these purchases. I’m not saying they’re the main reason, but they certainly carried weight in negotiations with shareholders and company management.
The Xbox store on PC is the biggest beneficiary
The Xbox Store on PC is clearly lacking in content. Some games are on Xbox One and Xbox Series but not in the Windows Store. There it is difficult to compete with Steam. Epic Games is continuing on another streak of handing out free games every week, and it’s a bottomless pit that Spencer and his team don’t want to consider. For more games, more purchases and more user retention. This is something that Valve has done very well in creating its ecosystem.
The lack of a place that engages the player on PC is a gaping hole in the company’s game strategy. Satya Nadella quickly realized that the gaming industry was part of reaching this audience that Microsoft escaped, and with Phil Spencer’s vision and the movement towards subscriptions, he had a clear insight into it. So they opened the doors of Windows to games and Xbox is an integral part of the operating system.
On their way to break into the PC, they still have to bring the store to life. And it makes sense to do that by buying studios and franchises that weren’t available. The Bethesda purchase brought with it a good handful of PC games for the Windows Store, like The Evil Within for example. World of Warcraft is expected to hit the Windows Store and it’s a boon for Team Xbox on that platform. And for the Xbox player, who will be able to play it with achievements and the benefits of the ecosystem.
This is an advantage not only for the PC gamer, but also for the console gamer. Microsoft cares that you play and spend on their games from anywhere, and that’s why Play Anywhere exists. Sometimes I find that certain games I have on my console I can’t continue on PC, and that sucks. With this, the company makes sure to have a wider list and use their store more.
In addition, following these acquisitions and the strengthening of its offer, more developers will want to put their games there and this will end up retaining players who today do not see its launcher as an alternative. The PC gamer is not like the console gamer, he cares less about prostitution (in a good way) and jumping from place to place; It would be hard for me to leave Xbox because I have a life there.
Improve the Xbox Game Pass offer
And of course, the absolute winner is the Xbox Game Pass. Perhaps the only negative option a user can see in the service is that certain games are released. With this you ensure a good handful of games that will not leave the subscription since Xbox Game Studios’ own games stay forever. They also make sure to inject new and very powerful games into the offer, such as Call of Duty, Overwatch, DOOM, Elder Scrolls, Crash… and many more. These will stay forever.
With Xbox Game Studios’ current catalog, it already seems to me that Game Pass is a brutal offer, but adding the classic franchises of Activision and Bethesda, the association with EA Play and the games that its 32 studios can produce. They might soon not depend on third-party games for monthly payment, although I don’t think that will happen as both sides win.
Last but not least, let’s not forget that if Microsoft hadn’t bought Bethesda or Activision, Google or Amazon could have done so and with that, scored a big goal for Windows in the form of a Trojan horse.
