This morning, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire ZeniMax Media Inc. for as much as $7.5 billion in cash. ZeniMax is the parent company of a number of popular publishers including, MachineGames, Alpha Dog, Arkane, Roundhouse Studios, Bethesda Game Studios, etc.
Once the deal is approved, this deal will bring few highly regarded games under the umbrella of Microsoft including; Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, Prey, Dishonoured, etc.
The Xbox head Phil Spencer said in a post, “All of their great work 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.”
While the launch of the new Xbox and PlayStation is just around the corner, closing such a huge deal could eventually put Microsoft in a good position when it comes to the exclusivity of games. However, both the parties are yet to discuss how this move will impact the bigger franchises including Doom and Elder Scrolls will be approached in the competitive platforms.
On the other hand, Bethesda’s AVP said, “The world, our industry, and our company has changed a lot in the 34 years since Bethesda Softworks was first founded. Today, it changed again. And I know that brings up questions. But the key point is we’re still Bethesda. We’re still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us.”
This move is likely to expand Microsoft’s portfolio from 15 to 23 studio teams, which might definitely give Microsoft an added advantage over their prime competitor Sony.
Back in 2014, Facebook was sued by ZeniMax, and that suit bought them $4 billion in damages alleging stolen trade secrets.
