In one of the biggest acquisitions in the video game industry, Microsoft announced its plans to acquire ZeniMax Media back in September 2020. For those not in the know, Zenimax Media is the parent company of id Software, Bethesda, and Arkane Studios that hold rights to legendary titles including Doom, Dishonored, Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Prey. Now that the whopping $7.5 billion deal is through, ZeniMax has dissolved its Board of Directors.
The news comes from Bethesda’s senior vice president of global marketing and communications, Pete Hines. The move is a standard procedure during such acquisitions. ZeniMax’s board was comprised of some of the biggest names from a variety of fields including producer Jerry Bruckheimer whose movie budgets often eclipse GDPs of small nations. Former President Donald Trump’s brother, Robert Trump, who passed away in 2020, was also part of this elite club. Former CEO of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Harry Sloan, who was technically James Bond’s boss, also served as a director along with former baseball superstar Cal Ripken Jr. Other influential people on the board included former CEO of CBS Leslie Moonves, entertainment attorney Ernest Del, and high profile investor Michael Dominguez.
With this acquisition, Microsoft has reiterated its commitment to its Xbox gaming division. Ever since Satya Nadella succeeded Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft, there have been rumors of Xbox meeting the same fate as Windows Phone. Dropping billions on ZeniMax not only shows that Microsoft’s leadership is serious about its video games division but also provides a much-needed boost to the Xbox ecosystem. Microsoft has already added 20 Bethesda titles to Xbox Game Pass.
In the last generation console wars, Xbox One lagged behind PS4 sales due to Sony’s formidable line-up of exclusive games. But now with over a dozen of ZeniMax studios under its belt, Microsoft has an option to turn an existing popular title into an Xbox exclusive. Although the gaming giant hasn’t named any particular title, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer has made it clear that “some” new titles in the future will be exclusive to Microsoft’s console. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft’s gamble pays off. Irrespective of how things turn out, the move deal must have made folks over at Sony at least a bit nervous.
In the meantime though, Microsoft has confirmed that it will honor existing exclusive deals between Sony and Bethesda. Weird as it may sound, Bethesda’s upcoming titles Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo will first land on PlayStation 5.
Source: GameSpot
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