Microsoft acquires Zenimax/Bethesda

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Huge move for sure. Think it's for the betterment of the games industry. Sony is trying to kill cross platform connections and development and that frankly is the future.
 
Brilliant move by Microsoft. Announcing a day before preorders go live too.

Competition is always good for consumers and Microsoft suddenly got competitive as hell.
 
Croatoan said:
This move is 100% about adding content to gamepass and as a gamepass subscriber I absolutely love it (getting EA games is awesome too!).
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Yeah when does that go into effect? There's a bunch of EA games I want to check out.

Gamepass for me is great because I stopped buying and playing console games for a couple of years now. Now I'm playing catch-up.
 
Holy shit!!! this is WAY beyond a megaton. Sony can go do their little moneyhats -- Xbox flexes that Microsoft warchest. Guess Deathloop isn't going to be a Sony exclusive anymore
 
Doom and Quake are the extent of what I care about out of all those studios, but good for them I guess.

Seems strange to aquire them when basically all of their games were already coming to Xbox.

I'm all for paying $10 once every six months to play anything the entirety of Zenimax may release in that period though.
 
shenmue mugen said:
I don't understand much about acquisitions but I think all those IPs belong to Microsoft now and will be playable on Xbox and PC only. Am I right?
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They could do once all current obligations are completed. Its basically the same situation as Outer Worlds and Obsidian. They'll finish up what they are contracted for and then are free to do what they want.

The main thing to consider here is that they've just bought a publisher, which is a business in its own right that formerly has kept itself afloat by selling multi-platform offerings. So, going forwards they either try and maintain that business model, but kick-back with priority deals to Xbox, or they basically abandon those revenue streams and go all in as a vassal of the MS mothership.

My feeling is that they'll go the former route, because ultimately they still have to answer to MS senior management and their stock-holders so as to assure them that they aren't simply riding the gravy-train.
 
daninthemix said:
Why can't more Sony fans be mature like you.
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Im against acquiring paying off 3rd parties to keep games off of other platforms like MS did with Rise of the Tomb Raider and Sony is doing with some games, but acquiring publishers and studios and getting them under one umbrella is fine.

Im also hoping that this might mean that Fallout 3 and New Vegas get re-released on newer consoles.
 
Esteldan said:
Having read some more of this thread, is there a particular reason it seems to accepted that future titles are going to come out for PlayStation? That doesn't seem to make any sense at all.
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It's all assumption at this point.

That being said, Minecraft Dungeons (a new XBGS game) was released just this year for Switch/PS4, despite MS buying Minecraft 6 years ago.
 
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DJT123 said:
Judging by their recent respective output I want InXile handling F:NV 2, not Obsidian.
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OMG! OMG! It's just hitting ---- Xbox owns Fallout and Edler Scrolls. This is insane and 100 times better than WB would have been.
 
Bodomism said:
Yep Bathesda and Microsoft relationship with Nintendo is top notch.
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Ok?

Senua said:
They did not.
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bethesda.net

Todd Howard On Joining Xbox

I have had the pleasure of working with, and partnering with, many of the best gaming and tech companies in the world. But our longest, and closest partner during my career, has been Microsoft.
bethesda.net 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.
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Emphasis mine.
 
MilkyJoe said:
Remember Doom?



In all fairness though. I reckon they'll do Doom and Eder Scrolls a la Minecraft. They're way too big for this shit.
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It's a huge move, very plausible. But I sincerely have no interest in their games, but acknowledge that those titles have huge fanbases behind them. The only game from Bethesda that I mildly liked was Rage 2.
 
The gaming industry right now, in a nutshell:

P3pnzfl.gif


Are people really thinking that Phil would just allow Sony to buy timed exclusives left and right without taking any actions?
 
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Corrik said:
Reminder! The Microsoft plan has been to get Nintendo and PlayStation to add Gamepass to their consoles as a device. Thus, they would be able to play these games on all consoles, just through a Gamepass subscription. Nintendo and Sony have disallowed this so far.
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Yeah, I agree

People are not looking at the bigger picture. Exclusives are ok, but I think MS has bigger plans.
 
M1chl said:
Nah, Obsidian was bought by MS, just before release, so no...
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Fair enough. I do think it was rushed out to hit GP though, as at the time Microsoft were hurting for games.
JohnnyFootball said:
It's not perfect, and it's obvious that the game was done on a lower budget, but I enjoyed the hell outta the game and it was so wonderful playing a game that gave me major New Vegas vibes. My only complaint was that the perks were pretty weak and the game became drastically less interesting once you hit the level cap.
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I agree with all of this. But, considering everything, as a new IP under the MS umbrella for the first time, i think they did exceedingly well.

I haven't played the DLC yet though. I reckon that will be a big step-up in form and mechanics.
 
Dolomite said:
Wait so...MS COULD have actually afford to purchase WB?
Bethesda was the right choice. New Vegas 2 by obsidian!!!
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MS could buy pretty much any video game company they want and still be the second richest company in the world lol.

People involved in video game warring really don't seem to understand just how much bigger than Sony MS are. MS could buy Sony and not even notice it on their balance sheets.
 
Thinking about this, I'd be surprised if these games aren't still released on PlayStation. Means they can get some profit on PlayStation and make them "free" on Gamepass.

They do something similar with Steam.

Making then exclusive is just leaving too much money on the table.
 
ManaByte said:
People on Twitter are in total denial. They think Elder Scrolls and Fallout will still go to PS5.
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Twitter? Plenty of them on here too.

Yeah, I can really see MS splashing out seven and a half billion and releasing their new range of IP's on their main competitors console :messenger_tears_of_joy:
 
Boswollocks said:
OW was rushed, a new IP on a short-cycle and was designed to be on GP.

It works mechanically. It may not be the best looking game and idgaf about the 'butch women' 'woke' bollox that was being spewed around. For a new IP it did what it was meant to do; make a mark.
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Boswollocks said:
Same as in real life, i like to observe, watch and draw conclusions based on studies and theories.
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AntonioBanderasXsX said:
LMAO everyone who bought PS4 over Xbox this is your fault, good luck ;P
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Bethesda was collapsing as a studio. If the purchase means they clean up their act and release games properly again, i welcome it.
Orta said:
Twitter? Plenty of them on here too.

Yeah, I can really see MS splashing out seven and a half billion and releasing their new range of IP's on their main competitors console :messenger_tears_of_joy:
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it's called "making their money back".
 
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Honestly, on reflection I suspect that the only change we'll see going forwards is all Zenimax games published on PC/Xbox will be day #1 on Gamepass. Otherwise I think it'll be business as usual at least for the next few years.
 
Flintty said:
I get what they're doing. Buying up some big names but keeping them multiplat just to stop Sony money hatting them for exclusivity or ownership. Valid strategy actually.

I'd still go for the jugular though and go full exclusive. Business is business 😎
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I can't imagine that's the reason they would spend 7b.

It would make more sense for them to put them on everything except PlayStation (talking purely from a business perspective here, I've got nothing again PS players).
 
Bernkastel said:
Look at LinkedIn/Github(and compare with Nokia). Every acquisition since then has been handled very well.
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Handled well in what sense?

What games have they made since Microsoft acquired them?

90% of the new acquisitions haven't even made a game yet for Microsoft.

Microsoft couldn't handle one studio called Rare. They now have 20 plus to handle.
 
CatLady said:
OMG! OMG! It's just hitting ---- Xbox owns Fallout and Edler Scrolls. This is insane and 100 times better than WB would have been.
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Imagine a hardcore mature big budget Fallout straight from the original creators. MS can put devs from InXile, Obsidian & Bethesda on it:messenger_darts:
 
That, is a very smart and ballsy move on Microsoft. If there are games you want under your belt as exclusives to Xbox and PC, these are the ones.
 
This is huge and puts a lot of pressure on Sony. This shows that Microsoft has a lot of money and buy whoever they want. They can even buy Sony if they want.
 
fermcr said:
Funny thing!... Deathloop is going to be published by Bethesda as a PS5/PC exclusive. What's going to happen now?
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We dont have the contract, but maybe theres a stipulation that voids the agreement if there is an acquisition.
 
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