For those keeping score at home, that's 1.875 Lucasfilms.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/55005/bethesda-acquired-by-microsoft-in-us75b-deal
Gaming's largest privately held publisher is off the market.
ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, has entered into an agreement to be bought by Microsoft for US$7.5bn. This would give Microsoft ownership of properties such as Doom, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Wolfenstein.
Details of updates made to business agreements from before the sale, such as Doom Eternal for Switch and the year of exclusivity of the upcoming Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo on PlayStation 5, have not been updated.
UPDATE: In a statement to Bloomberg, Xbox division head Phil Spencer indicated ongoing agreements (including the previously mentioned exclusivity) would be honored and future support for non-Microsoft ecosystems would be determined on a "case-by-case basis".
So is the outcome of this going to be that Microsoft's game library improves or will it be a Rare situation where they just squander Bethesda and only accomplish keeping others from having them?
Microsoft and its videogame endeavors are so strange. Here's a company that's never been market leader. Out of three consoles, its second is considered the most successful although that success is debatable depending on how it might be measured or looked at. Its hardware hasn't been all that exceptional and has a growing view of being unnecessary with so many of the games on the systems available on PC or the competitor's hardware. It has a handful of big name franchises tied to the brand (although these continuing studio acquisitions could change that) and a big reason for it entering the market (living room dominance versus Sony) no longer seems to be a factor 20 years later as tech and habits have changed.
I'd love to see actual figures showing the totals Microsoft has spent in console development and production (plus console repair), first party software development, third party deals, and studio acquisitions versus the profit from hardware and first party software. I just don't see how they've ever recouped any of their costs at this point. I don't get what their strategy going forward is or why they think it is worth still being invested in the video game market so heavily. It just seems like the strategy is throw money at the problem and that should eventually fix it. If Xbox wasn't backed by Microsoft's deep pockets, it probably have folded by now. I'd love to know the justification from Microsoft on why they aren't decreasing their money spent in the market especially as they keep pushing hardware to further drive up the cost of video game development which they'll be on the hook for with all these studios they've bought developing software for it.
The original Xbox would have been another 3DO if Halo hadn't happened to align. It always just seemed like something cooked up by a sweaty junior exec without any clear connection to Microsoft's core businesses or expertise, which resulted in them spending a ton of money on a boondoggle custom box that ended up neck and neck with the Gamecube.
I'd love to see actual figures showing the totals Microsoft has spent in console development and production (plus console repair), first party software development, third party deals, and studio acquisitions versus the profit from hardware and first party software. I just don't see how they've ever recouped any of their costs at this point. I don't get what their strategy going forward is or why they think it is worth still being invested in the video game market so heavily. It just seems like the strategy is throw money at the problem and that should eventually fix it. If Xbox wasn't backed by Microsoft's deep pockets, it probably have folded by now. I'd love to know the justification from Microsoft on why they aren't decreasing their money spent in the market especially as they keep pushing hardware to further drive up the cost of video game development which they'll be on the hook for with all these studios they've bought developing software for it.
So, I guess it is smart for Microsoft to purchase other IP like this to bolster the big name franchises they can offer and control since they haven't been able to do much to create a lot of them on their own but their past history in purchasing Rareware should also be a warning that purchasing IP doesn't automatically mean high-quality system selling software is going to come from it.
It denies current rival Sony several enticing exclusives in the future (Skyrim sold 30 million units, they just bought its sequel), pads the xCloud portfolio in another big blow to Google's Stadia, and it effectively raises the price of entry for "new" players in the market like Apple, Amazon, and TenCent.
This all shores up their position against both their current as well as their future rivals. I agree with you Xbox often seemed like a side-project which grew slightly too big to kill, but it's difficult to read this purchase as anything other than MicroSoft going all-in on gaming.
While I don't wanna be the corporate defender in here
I'm not a fan of this move. Microsoft and Sony picking up a studio or 2 every couple of years is one thing, but this is a major publisher that likewise owned a bunch of major developers. While I doubt that Microsoft will make Bethesda's games true exclusives overall (Bethesda just made way too much money multiplatform), I just don't see how such a massive consolidation in the industry can be a good thing.
Watch Sony respond by purchasing Square Enix next, probably the only remaining publisher in the business on the level of a Bethesda (2K would never sell).
Kojima almost killed Konami before and now you want to have him finish the job?
