With Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax, the parent company of Bethesda Game Studios, many PlayStation owners are worried that the developer’s new games will become Xbox exclusives. Microsoft probably won’t make every Bethesda game an Xbox exclusive, since that would go against the company’s perspective on exclusivity and gaming as a whole, but there probably will be some games that won’t come to PlayStation consoles.
Last year, when the PS5 console was finally revealed, a few new games by Bethesda were announced as PlayStation exclusives. This was before Microsoft spent $7.5 billion to purchase ZeniMax, so some fans are becoming concerned that Microsoft might not honor the PlayStation exclusive deals that were made a long time ago.
To be clear, neither Deathloop nor GhostWire: Tokyo were ever going to be 100 percent PlayStation exclusives. Like Final Fantasy 7 Remake, these two games were going to be timed-exclusives. Both of them are also launching on PC day-one, so the term “exclusive” didn’t have an incredible amount of weight to begin with. However, PlayStation fans can rest easy — Deathloop and Ghost-Wire: Tokyo are not being pulled from the PS5 lineup, and Microsoft plans to honor the timed console-exclusivity deals. The news was confirmed by Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, fairly quickly after the purchase announcement was made.
Deathloop will remain PlayStation console-exclusive for one year, which means that Xbox gamers won’t be able to get their hands on it until May 21, 2022 at the earliest. Deathloop follows Colt, a man trapped in a time loop tasked with assassinating eight different targets in a 24-hour period to escape. His efforts are thwarted by Julianna, a rival assassin who tries to kill Colt before he can accomplish his task and restart the loop. It’s being developed by Arkane Studios, with Bethesda serving as the publisher.
GhostWire: Tokyo is a first-person paranormal survival adventure set in the city of Tokyo, which has been overrun by ghosts. Players must fight and evade headless schoolgirls, a slenderman army wielding umbrellas, and countless other ghosts and spirits to save the city. It is being developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda. Like Deathloop, GhostWire: Tokyo will be exclusive to PlayStation consoles for one year. There’s no release date yet, but it should come out in October 2021, and Microsoft plans to honor the exclusivity deal.
Beyond Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo, the relationship between PlayStation and Bethesda games is uncertain. Obviously, Bethesda’s most iconic IPs like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout will be missed if future installments don’t come to PlayStation. It’s not guaranteed that they will, either. Phil Spencer informed the press that future titles will still be coming to PC, and will launch as part of Xbox Game Pass, but releases on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles will be determined case-by-case.
Bethesda is confirmed to be working on two major titles: The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield, a completely new IP set in space. Starfield is further along in its development, so the way Microsoft treats its release may give PlayStation fans a better idea of what to expect from their favorite established Bethesda franchises.
It’s possible that Microsoft may opt to go the timed-exclusive route with Bethesda’s games and treat each similar to how Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo are releasing. Phil Spencer is well known for his view on exclusives and not wanting to alienate players from playing great games. Even though Sony has traditionally taken a very different approach, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Xbox use the timed-exclusive strategy. That way it can still reap the rewards of having exclusives, but not permanently prevent some gamers from playing. For something like The Elder Scrolls 6, which already has a ton of fans on every platform, this might be the best way to go.
The main takeaway is that everything Bethesda is currently working on involving PlayStation is secure, and Microsoft is not planning on withdrawing support from established projects. Microsoft will also continue supporting The Elder Scrolls Online for PlayStation gamers. But going forward, future games from Bethesda could be Xbox console-exclusive or timed exclusives.
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