Microsoft today confirmed that they’ve completed their acquisition of ZeniMax Media and have finally given their first statement regarding exclusivity.
The $7.5 billion acquisition that kicked off last September has drawn to a close. ZeniMax Media and all its assets are now part of the Microsoft umbrella. For the Xbox brand, this means more studios and IP. For Xbox and PC players, Xbox head Phil Spencer confirmed more Bethesda games are coming to Xbox Game Pass later this week. Notably, the announcement did not state that Bethesda’s studios are joining Xbox Game Studios, suggesting that they may maintain some semblance of independence within Microsoft.
However, probably the big news players have been waiting to hear is what’s happening to third-party support. Millions of fans on PlayStation and Switch devices have been waiting to hear the fate of Bethesda titles on their platform. The answer? Neither encouraging or discouraging, just a confirmation from Spencer that"some" new games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.
“With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that 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.”
Bethesda’s Pete Hines released his ownvague statementsaying that there would be no immediate changes. Bethesda currently has two contracts with Sony to release Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo as timed-exclusives on PS5, which Microsoft previously confirmed they’ll honor. They’ve also announced PS5 versions of Doom Eternal and The Elder Scrolls Online.
“First, let me say that we’re not making any landmark announcements or changes right now. As we’ve all shared, the expectation is that Bethesda Softworks and our studios will continue as we have in the past, just with more support and resources than we’ve ever had before.”
The statements leave open the door for Bethesda titles to make their way to other platforms, but we remain in limbo. Hopefully, we’ll get further clarification as we head towards summer when both Microsoft and Bethesda are expected to have digital events to showcase new games.
