Microsoft Acquires Bethesda's Parent Comany ZeniMax Media
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Microsoft has announced that they are acquiring ZeniMax Media, the parent company of publisher Bethesda, including the many studios that have been creating their key franchises such as The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Prey, and More.
This acquisition now places these studios and all their franchises under the Xbox flag:
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Game Studios
id Software
ZeniMax Online Studios
Arkane Studios
MachineGames
Tango Gameworks
Alpha Dog
Roundhouse Studios
In an Xbox blog press release post, Xbox head Phil Spencer welcomes franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Doom, Dishonored, Prey, Quake and more to team Xbox. Even games currently in development like Starfield or The Elder Scrolls 6 is now part of Xbox after this move.
Bethesda’s Pete Hines also detailed the parent company and everything under it now being part of the Microsoft family, confirming that they were acquired for $7.5 billion in cash.
Bethesda Games’ Todd Howard also expressed his thoughts on the move of joining Xbox, saying that “We can’t think of a better group of people to do that with than those at Xbox. We have friendships that go back to those original days. From Phil to his senior leaders to developer support, they don’t just talk about putting players first, they passionately live it.”
This of course bring more questions that need to be answered. One would be if previous deals done before the buying of ZeniMax Media will continue as is, such as PlayStation console exclusive deals for upcoming games like Ghostwire: Tokyo or Deathloop?
This is a rather interesting development as it comes after both Xbox and PlayStation has revealed the price and launch date for their next-gen consoles the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5.
Writer’s take (IF NEEDED)
It’s easy to describe Animal Well as a puzzle-focused Metroidvania eschewing traditional combat, where nearly every room is a puzzle room, but that falls so far short of describing just what this game is and how expertly it defies genre and classification that it feels like a disservice. Animal Well is a paragon of the art form, a game that simply must be experienced.