Recently, the Microsoft acquisition of Bethesda was made official, and now the Xbox lineup has been expanded greatly. Bethesda is working on several new games, most notably a new Elder Scrolls game and the long-gestating Starfield. While there hasn’t been any further news on the new games the company is working on, Bethesda’s library has found a new home on Xbox Game Pass. The gaming service was already widely considered to be a resounding success and great value for the money, but the newest additions of Bethesda games have added another layer of value for gamers all over.
Bethesda’s future games are now going to be exclusive to Microsoft platforms, as noted by Xbox boss Phil Spencer. Bethesda is set to honor any prior arrangements, such as Deathloop’s timed exclusivity on PlayStation 5, but it seems as though the future of Bethesda is going to be solely on Xbox. Similarly, the past of Bethesda now resides on Xbox platforms with the addition of 20 new games to Xbox Game Pass. For Xbox gamers and Bethesda fans, there has never been a better time for both companies, and arguably, the deal has been finalized at the right time for gamers, Xbox, and Bethesda.
It’s no secret that The Elder Scrolls 6 is a long way off from launch, along with Starfield and anything else that Bethesda is currently working on. The developer is known to take its time with its releases, and the latest projects will be no exception. With the addition of 20 Bethesda games to Xbox Game Pass, gamers have a chance to play, catch up, and refresh themselves with Bethesda’s existing games.
Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim have all been added to Xbox Games Pass, making the service one of the best centralized services gamers can find to catch up on the series. With The Elder Scrolls 6 presumably being a long time away, Xbox Game Pass has the bases covered for gamers who wish to experience the older games of the series.
The addition of Bethesda games only adds to the huge value of the Xbox Game Pass service for current subscribers, and it gives plenty of incentive for new subscribers. While older Bethesda games aren’t exclusive to Microsoft platforms, a select few have already received an upgrade via FPS boost. Considering Microsoft is the new home for the company, it stands to reason that older games down the line could receive similar upgrades. While the industry waits on the release of new Bethesda games, fans will be able to play the older titles in arguably the best forms, and at no extra cost for a significant number of subscribers.
It may not come as a surprise, but people are spending a lot more time gaming since Covid-19 began. The pandemic continues to rage on, with most of the world still in the midst of dealing with this health crisis. As a result of people spending more time inside, gaming has been on the up and up. While game development has been impacted, and quite severely in some cases, there is no shortage of gamers in the current climate. Xbox Game Pass was already an invaluable tool for people to pass time, and with the addition of 20 new games from Bethesda, that value has increased even more so.
The types of games that Bethesda has created indirectly lend themselves to safe, sheltering-in-place activity as well. Most Bethesda games are long and feature an open world, and despite the presence of bugs and other technical issues, they tend to run long and are immersive. For the most part, Bethesda games aren’t titles you can complete in one or two sessions, rather they require dedication and enthusiasm for the journey. These immersive experiences are arguably best enjoyed during long sessions and lengthy playthroughs, and for a lot of people, there has likely never been a better time to be able to commit to lengthy games.
While both Xbox and PlayStation are experiencing shortages for the new consoles, Xbox has a distinct advantage over PlayStation, and that is the accessibility afforded by Xbox Game Pass. Xbox Game Pass can be used on PC and Xbox One consoles, meaning that if a fan can’t get an Xbox Series X or S, it’s not the end of the world. PlayStation fans might be more limited in this way, even with the presence of PlayStation Now. Because of the flexibility Game Pass offers, Xbox gamers have more options, and now that Bethesda games have found a new home with Xbox, this could be an opportunity for Microsoft to sway gamers over to its next-gen console.
AMD has stated it expects shortages to continue through 2021 and this certainly isn’t an ideal situation for console manufacturers. Despite this, Xbox potentially has more recourse in dealing with this unfortunate situation. The availability of Xbox Game Pass, the addition of past Bethesda games, and future Bethesda titles being exclusive, gives the company more than enough ammo to win over fans. Gamers are still finding it difficult to find PlayStation 5 consoles, and while that is true for Xbox consoles as well, the latter is conceivably in a better position to nurture fandom and belief in the brand.
Microsoft now has Bethesda franchises at its disposal, and while new Bethesda games won’t be coming for some time, the back catalog that has been added to Xbox Game Pass couldn’t have come at a better time. At the moment players are spending more time gaming, and Bethesda’s games are suited perfectly for the current landscape, with them primarily involving single-player stories. Existing Xbox Game Pass subscribers have no extra cost incurred to enjoy the fruits of the acquisition, and gamers who aren’t fans of the Xbox brand have even more reasons to try it out now.
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