MICROSOFT : Acquiring ZeniMax Media

(Tue, 22 Sept 2020). Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Starfield, DOOM, Dishonored, and more from Bethesda’s portfolio will now exist under the Microsoft Xbox umbrella.

Microsoft has announced it is on the cusp of acquiring Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media. The deal is reportedly numbered at $7.5 billion, Microsoft’s biggest acquisition in the gaming industry. Fan-favorite franchises such as Fallout, DOOM, The Elder Scrolls, and more will now fall under the Xbox umbrella marking a major win for Microsoft’s gaming wing.

Today, Microsoft announced that it has agreed to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company behind gaming industry behemoth Bethesda Softworks and a raft of developers such as id Software, Arkane Studios, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, and Alpha Dog.

According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Microsoft will fork out a staggering $7.5 billion for the deal, which we’ll see a host of venerated IP fall under the Xbox umbrella moving forward. These include The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, The Evil Within, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, and Quake, as well as highly-anticipated in-development titles like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI.

The acquisition also comes as Xbox readies to launch two new next-gen consoles this November and is actively expanding its xCloud streaming service and Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Two Bethesda-published titles, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop, are slated for release on Sony’s PS5 and PC as timed exclusives. It’s unclear how the acquisition will affect this agreement, though Microsoft will likely honor it.

A Major Play For Microsoft

As far as statements about Microsoft’s ambitious, today’s news is a seismic as it gets, and likely signals a significant propping up of Xbox’s exclusive portfolio moving forward. Despite a developer shopping spree in recent years, Microsoft has lacked big-name franchises to take on competitor Sony in any meaningful way, whose first-party offering has long been a thorn in Xbox’s side.

With Bethesda now under its wing, Xbox is better equipped than ever to rival PlayStation’s first-party output; few franchises have the same reputation and cult following as DOOM, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls.

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