The Acquisition of ZeniMax (and its subsidiary Bethesda) by Microsoft is approved. The group behind successful brands such as Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein and Co. is now part of the Xbox manufacturer.
Questions arose as soon as it became known Platform exclusivity. So Microsoft will in future reserve Bethesda games exclusively for PC and Xbox, as is already practiced with in-house productions?
There is now an answer to this question, albeit a vague one: Microsoft announced that “Some” Bethesda games will appear exclusively for PC and Xbox in the future. Which games will be withheld from the PlayStation is currently open. The announcement followed as part of Microsoft’s approved takeover of ZeniMax.
“This is the next step in building an industry-leading team of first-party studios and a commitment we have to our Xbox community. With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players. “
This makes it clear: only PC and Xbox players can be sure that new Bethesda games will appear on their own platform. PlayStation users, on the other hand, have to worry from title to title whether an exclusivity will apply or not.
Which games could be meant?
The first thing that comes to mind, of course, is big new games like The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield, and a new game in the Fallout universe. Microsoft could just as well mean smaller titles or open a back door, depending on how the console market develops in the future. It is also currently unclear whether this could be a temporal exclusivity.
Interesting in this context: The next Bethesda title Deathloop will still appear exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and for the PC, but not for the Microsoft consoles – at least for the time being.
We discussed for you in the GameStar podcast why Microsoft’s takeover of Bethesda can be both a curse and a blessing:
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Microsoft’s Bethesda acquisition is a blessing – or a horror scenario
Big acquisitions are often a source of uncertainty for fans. In the past, however, Microsoft emphasized several times that they wanted to let Bethesda work in peace.
