In case you somehow missed the news, Microsoft today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks. The acquisition brings 2,300 new employees under the Xbox umbrella and expands Microsoft from 15 to 23 creative studio teams. It also brings popular franchises like Doom, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls into the fold. In short, it is an extremely big deal — made with $7.5 billion in cash. And the internet is kind of freaking out about it.
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“This is an awesome time to be an Xbox fan. In the last 10 days alone, we’ve released details on our two new consoles which go on pre-order tomorrow, launched cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and now we’re making another investment in the most critical part of our strategy: the games,” said Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox, as part of today’s announcement. “Generations of gamers have been captivated by the renowned franchises in the Bethesda portfolio and will continue to be so for years to come as part of Xbox.”
The timing of the acquisition announcement, which is expected to close in the second half of 2021’s fiscal year, couldn’t be better, all things considered, for Xbox and Microsoft. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are both set to launch on November 10th for $499 and $299, respectively, and pre-orders are expected to go live tomorrow morning, September 22nd. You can check out all of our previous coverage of Xbox right here.
What do you think of this acquisition? What do you hope to see from Xbox now that ZeniMax Media/Bethesda Softworks is part of the fold? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming! And keep reading to see what folks are saying about it online!
There is of course celebrating
Xbox just bought Bethesda#halo #doom pic.twitter.com/jbg7ZEoemY
— Apex Arts (@ApexArtsIG) September 21, 2020
And Xbox Game Pass has never looked better
all of Bethesdas games coming to game pass is a pretty insane value. no interest in buying an xbox but getting gamepass for pc seems like an easy choice
— 9 V O L T (@9_volt_) September 21, 2020
And the question is: what of these will be exclusives
PlayStation fans: what exclusives does xbox have?
— YuYu (@Plun_Yu) September 21, 2020
*microsoft buys Bethesda*
PlayStation fans now: pic.twitter.com/dkuxbGoO0o
The statements have been just vague enough on the subject to mean anything
PlayStation fans: we have the best exclusives! Xbox sucks!
— James (@JamesTwoShoes) September 21, 2020
Xbox: buys Bethesda
PlayStation fans: pic.twitter.com/Ba97W6q72P
Who knows!
Lot of people reaching out asking what this means in regards to Xbox exclusivity on Bethesda games / will they be on PS5 moving forward
— Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) September 21, 2020
Reality is we simply don’t know. Comments from both Xbox and Bethesda are vague. Could go either way imo
Even so: Gaming Infinity Gauntlet seems to be complete
Xbox now with the RPG trifecta of Obsidian, Bethesda and inXile. pic.twitter.com/a0hk6xzArs
— Shinobi602 (@shinobi602) September 21, 2020
No, but seriously
“Haha, adding Bethesda that’s like one powerhouse after Rare right?” “Wait, they got Minecra..”
— Mabatsekker Sandwich (@mabatsekker) September 21, 2020
“Wait a minute. AAAAH.”
When you can’t even keep up with history to make your MSPaint memery current enough. pic.twitter.com/c3fS4MKxGV
Next-gen pre-orders are going live tomorrow, too…
Pretty clever for Microsoft to unveil this Bethesda deal 9 hours before Series X/S preorders go live. Some SERIOUS wind in their sails today.
— Skill Up (@SkillUpYT) September 21, 2020
A good parody account is still a good parody account, though
Some may wonder whether any remaining multiplatform Bethesda releases will not be optimised for PS5, but don’t worry: Bethesda games were never optimised for PlayStation consoles
— Ex-CEO Kaz Hirai (@KazHiraiCEO) September 21, 2020
