Microsoft Confirms Some Future Bethesda Games Will Be Exclusive To Xbox And PC

Microsoft Confirms Some Future Bethesda Games Will Be Exclusive To Xbox And PC

Microsoft’s $US7.5 ($10) billion acquisition of Bethesda Software parent company, Zenimax Media, is complete, the company announced today. While the full ramifications of the deal will play out in the months and years to come, Xbox boss Phil Spencer did confirm one thing: some of Bethesda’s future games will be exclusive to Microsoft’s platforms.

“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,” Spencer wrote in today’s blog post.

Last fall when the deal was first announced, Spencer said that it would honour the existing terms of agreements Bethesda already had to make Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo PS5 console exclusives, but would decide which of the publishers futures games to make multiplatform on a “case-by-case” basis. Today’s news makes it clear that at least some of them will be exclusive to Xbox and PC, but it’s still unclear which those will be.

[referenced id=”1173855″ url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/09/future-bethesda-games-will-come-to-other-consoles-on-a-case-by-case-basis-microsoft-says/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/09/22/fwhoglp4peucgpypyoco-300×169.png” title=”Future Bethesda Games Will Come To Other Consoles ‘On A Case-By-Case Basis,’ Microsoft Says” excerpt=”Following the announcement that Microsoft is buying Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, Xbox boss Phil Spencer opened up the possibility that some of the newly acquired publisher’s future games could become exclusives.”]

Bethesda is currently working on The Elder Scrolls VI as well as a new scifi RPG called Starfield. Presumably the company will also be putting out a new Doom and Fallout in the next decade. At the same time, it’s possible today’s comments about exclusivity might apply to new games Bethesda hasn’t even announced yet, and that aren’t sequels to its existing popular series.

In the past, Spencer has said that upcoming Bethesda games will release day and date on Game Pass, Microsoft’s Netflix-like subscription service for games. More of the publisher’s existing back catalogue is also expected to come to the platform. Spencer said some of them will be joining the platform as early as later this week. Last night, VGC reported that this news will come in the form of a video presentation on March 11.

The official completion of the Bethesda acquisition means Microsoft now has 23 studios developing games for it. The company spent the end of the last console generation going on a spending spree acquiring the likes of DoubleFine, Obsidian, and others, with an eye toward beefing up its lineup of strong first-party exclusive Xbox games. Despite these efforts, the initial release schedule for the Xbox Series X/S has been lacking so far. However, Xbox Director of Program Management Jason Ronald said in a recent podcast that Microsoft still has some as-of-yet unannounced Xbox games coming out later this year.

[referenced id=”1209119″ url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/03/regulators-approve-microsofts-us7-5-10-billion-acquisition-of-bethesda-parent-company-zenimax-media/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/03/09/qbtmen49y0tdvysoekz7-300×169.png” title=”Regulators Approve Microsoft’s $US10 ($13) Billion Acquisition Of Bethesda And Zenimax Media” excerpt=”Microsoft’s $US10 ($13) billion ($US7.5 ($10) billion) billion purchase of Zenimax Media — the parent company of Bethesda, owners of the Fallout, The Elder Scrolls and Doom series — has been approved by both the European Commission and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions.”]

[referenced id=”1182240″ url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/09/microsoft-now-has-23-first-party-studios-heres-what-theyre-making/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/09/23/dv34nijzggluhwi2expl-300×169.jpg” title=”Microsoft Now Has 23 First-Party Studios, Here’s What They’re Making” excerpt=”Yesterday, Microsoft announced it is buying up Bethesda and all of the publisher’s game studios. This now brings the total number of first-party Xbox studios to 23. That’s a lot of different developers. As Microsoft prepares to launch its next-gen Xbox this November, let’s take a look at what all…”]

[referenced id=”1188640″ url=”https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/10/xbox-boss-phil-spencer-on-series-x-launch-halo-infinite-bethesda/” thumb=”https://www.gizmodo.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/10/17/tmmpc1rtimkbjb4pexqj-300×169.png” title=”Xbox Boss Phil Spencer On Series X Launch, Halo Infinite & Bethesda” excerpt=”There’s nothing normal about interviewing Xbox chief Phil Spencer these days.”]

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