Among the a plethora of industry changing news in 2020, perhaps the biggest is Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax media, Bethesda Softworks’ parent company. Since then, it’s been unclear as to what’s going to happen with future titles, with many debating whether or not titles like The Elder Scrolls 6 or Starfield would be Xbox exclusives or remain as multi-platform titles.
Recently, there have been murmurs that Microsoft is going to host a Bethesda event in March. This seems to be backed by the timing of the completion of the deal which should be done once the European Union is done reviewing the terms (provide it is not delayed due to a Fallout 4 lawsuit). Either way, such an event is a great opportunity to clear the air regarding the exclusivity of future Bethesda titles.
Many would assume right out the gate that a deal of such nature would definitively imply that all future Bethesda games would be Xbox exclusives, but this doesn’t seem to be the case here. Microsoft has mostly remained silent on the matter, giving vague answers at best when faced with such questions, but also insisting it wants more people to play games, not less. Fans have speculated a lot about what this could mean, as the portfolio of Bethesda Softworks is quite vast to come to a suitable conclusion. Based on comments, it seems this is going to be a on case-by-case basis, but that doesn’t really answer the question either.
What this implies is that it doesn’t make much sense financially to keep players from accessing live-service titles like Fallout 76 on other platforms. Microsoft seems to be aware of this as Minecraft is already available on all platforms, and even gets most updates and spinoffs like Minecraft Dungeons. From a financial standpoint, it makes sense for live-service titles, as well as more general titles, to value the number of players and rake in more cash regularly than impose access restrictions based on platforms.
Contrary to that, making future single-player titles such as The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield exclusive to the Xbox family of consoles makes a lot of sense as the fandom behind the series would likely drive console sales. Phil Spencer has also claimed that Microsoft doesn’t need to put ZeniMax’s future titles on platforms like PS5 to recoup its $7.5 billion investment, which further bolsters such possibility. Microsoft has done similar moves in the past with Rare, which makes all the more sense that it could happen again. That being said, there is still a bit of mystery on the matter which really needs to be cleared up sooner rather than later.
If a Microsoft-Bethesda event does happen soon, it would be a great opportunity to put an end to such confusion, in addition to shelling out substantial information on future games like Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. The timing here is especially crucial, as it could turn out to have great implications for Microsoft going forward.
It’s been more than 3 months since the next-generation consoles have arrived on the market, yet a significant chunk of gamers haven’t invested in one. While scalping and shortages of stock for both PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles are to be blamed here, many gamers don’t have much reason to invest in one right now. There aren’t a lot of true next-gen exclusives for both consoles out at this point in time and with more and more games getting delayed out of 2021, gamers are refraining from investing in a next-generation console right now.
It’s not uncommon for gamers to own just a single console for an entire generation, and deciding which one to go with can be unnerving at times. If Microsoft does announce that future ZeniMax games would be exclusive, it would be monumental in convincing many gamers to go the Xbox route this time around. With games like Horizon: Forbidden West and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart on track to release this year, Microsoft needs to clear these confusions in such an event if it is to happen soon. This would probably help Microsoft quite a lot to capture a significant portion of the aforementioned gaming demographic, and at the very least, some evaluation of it’ll how approach each case would be beneficial for those contemplating which console to pick up.
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