Microsoft continued their next-gen shopping spree yesterday morning with the acquisition of Bethesda Softworks for a whopping $7.5 billion. The purchase includes the rights to all of the publisher’s world-famous franchises (including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, and Dishonored), as well as their stable of in-house development studios (including Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane, and MachineGames).
The Microsoft-Bethesda marriage is the biggest deal ever between two gaming companies, and instantly doubles the number of internal studios operating under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella. Naturally, all of the major players involved in this transaction had a lot to say.
Insert Quarter is a glimpse into gaming’s past, present, and future through an exploration of historical, retrospective, and contemporary reporting.
Phil Spencer, the Head of Microsoft’s Xbox Division, said that the deal was a natural fit for both companies, specifically calling out their shared history that stretches all the way back to 1995, in announcing the acquisition on Xbox Wire. He also added that Bethesda’s back catalog would soon make its way to the Xbox Game Pass subscription services for consoles and PC:
Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world. Our teams have a close and storied history working together, from the amazing first Doom, and its id Tech engine, innovating games on PCs to Bethesda bringing their first console game to the original Xbox, the groundbreaking The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Over the years I’ve had many deep conversations with the creative leaders at Bethesda on the future of gaming and we’ve long shared similar visions for the opportunities for creators and their games to reach more players in more ways.
Welcoming the Talented Teams and Beloved Game Franchises of Bethesda to Xbox
He later told Bloomberg‘s Dina Bass that Microsoft will honor Sony’s console exclusivity window for the PS5 launch of Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo in 2021. But he added that future titles from Bethesda-owned studios will only be released for the PC and Xbox platforms (though exceptions could be made on a case-by-case basis):
Future games, like Starfield, will be available for Xbox, PC and Microsoft’s Game Pass video-game service. “We’ll take other consoles on a case-by-case basis,” Spencer said.
Microsoft to Buy Bethesda for $7.5 Billion to Boost Xbox
Bethesda’s Executive Producer, Todd Howard, echoed Spencer’s fondness about the long-term partnership between Microsoft and Bethesda in a post on Bethesda.net:
Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen. We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone – regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one.
Todd Howard on Joining Xbox
Pete Hines, Bethesda’s Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications, also uploaded a post to Bethesda.net that looked back on his 21 years with the company… but also to the future. According to Hines, not much will change about Bethesda’s day-to-day operations, and he also shared that the name will live on as a publishing label:
Yes, it’s a big change for us, but after taking a minute to absorb the magnitude of this acquisition, we’re going to continue doing what we know and love: making great games. We’re going to keep trying new things. We’re going to take the same passion we’ve poured into what we do, and the passion that our community brings to the things we make, and do even better.
Why Microsoft is the Perfect Fit
With Bethesda now operating as a part of Xbox Game Studios, the game industry looks very different from how it did last week. The next generation is still a few months away, but it looks like it’ll be anything but boring. To that end, John Carmack shared his thoughts about this interesting new future on Twitter.
Carmack co-founded id Software, but left the studio in 2013. There’s been some bad blood (and a few lawsuits) between the programmer and Bethesda, so he’s excited about the possibility of working with Microsoft on a future installment of Doom, Quake, or Wolfenstein:
Great! I think Microsoft has been a good parent company for gaming IPs, and they don’t have a grudge against me, so maybe I will be able to re engage with some of my old titles. https://t.co/GijQGEL4tZ
— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) September 21, 2020
Bethesda was originally founded in 1986, and they’ve built up a large presence on the Video Game Canon over the last three decades. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (#19) and Fallout 3 (#58) are both in the Top 100, and the company holds the publishing rights to 1993’s Doom (#25). More than a dozen other titles can also be found peppered throughout the Top 1000. That’s certainly worth a few billion.