Bethesda, its parent company ZeniMax Media, and all of the associated internal studios have been purchased by Microsoft, and this is likely the most surprising, and unexpected news you'll hear today; further proving that anything can happen in 2020.
The acquisition wa smade public on Monday by Bethesda's Todd Howard and Pete Hines, as well as Microsoft's Phil Spencer, who reveald that they are quite excited to see what this new partnership can bring to the table in the near future.
"Microsoft is an incredible partner and offers access to resources that will make us a better publisher and developer," explains Pete Hines. "We believe that means better games for you to play. Simply put - we believe that change is an important part of getting better. We believe in pushing ourselves to be better. To innovate. To grow."
Todd Howard also shared his excitement about this surprising acquisition, revealing that he can't think of a better group of people to work with than the ones at Xbox, which even include Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer.
"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. 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[Spencer] to his senior leaders to developer support, they don't just talk about putting players first, they passionately live it," read Howard's statement.
Vice-President of Gaming at Microsoft Phil Spencer has also given the people over at Bethesda a warm welcome; reassuring players that both Bethesda and Xbox's interests have always been similar, and tht they will make sure to keep doing their best in the future.
"Bethesda's games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world... 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," expressed Spencer.
He then adds: "All of the great work[of Bethesda] will of course continue and grow and we look forward to empowering them with the resources and support of Microsoft to scale their creative visions to more players in new ways for you."
It will be interesting to see what this new partnership between Microsoft's Xbox and Bethesda will have in store for players. This acquisition will obviously made developers upcoming games exclusives, which may not sit well with players who have enjoyed their games on other platforms.
Among the series that will become Microsoft/Xbox exclusives from now on we have some heavy hitters like DOOM, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, and the Fallout series, so this acquisition is nothing short of ambitious.
Bethesda and Microsoft promise that they will keep creating content for players to enjoy in the future, so we will all have to wait and see for ourselves if this rather surprising allegiance manages to keep its promise.