It is true, you read the title correctly. Microsoft now owns ZeniMax and all of its creative studios. The two companies have had a tight relationship ever since the original DOOM back in the 90s and now the two are coming together as one. For PlayStation fans worried about Bethesda titles coming to PS4 or PS5 shouldn’t worry too much at this point. Phil Spencer at Xbox said that they’d still honor their commitments with PS5 exclusivity on titles Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo. He also stated that going forward, Xbox and PC would get future Bethesda games but that other consoles would get them on a case by case basis.
This is most definitely a power move for Xbox and a smart one at that. While most, including myself, would say that Sony has yet again had stronger moves in taking the console race away from Xbox. That observation ran true for a while but in the last few weeks since the announcement of the Xbox Series S, prices of their next-gen consoles, and now this, I’d say Xbox is in the top spot. Sony has also seemed to pull back a bit on forcing gamers to pick up the PS5 at launch to experience new games such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Horizon: Forbidden West by giving them PS4 counterparts. While this may have always been in the pipeline it does come off as a surprise when Sony has truly been touting next-gen over cross-gen as Xbox have. It feels like they’re possibly copping out or changing their view to more align with Xbox and it feels off.
Microsoft also says that Bethesda games will be making their way onto Xbox Game Pass for console and PC. I cannot wait to get a chance to play some of the titles I’ve overlooked that they’ve produced. This too is huge for Xbox and Bethesda fans in the long run as well. There’s a long list of future titles coming from Bethesda both announced and unannounced that Xbox is going to have a great time with.
