Three years after the Bethesda acquisition, Microsoft reveals the ultimate reason for the decision.
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard are in US courts defending their acquisition deal after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants to stop the movement of 69 billion dollars. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick are just some of the key figures testifying in the trial that could see the giant have to pay 3 billion dollars to those of Call of Duty if by July 18 the purchase is blocked. In this way, important details are being revealed, such as the possible launch year of the next generation of Xbox or the reason Bethesda was bought.
During hearings on Friday, Microsoft ended up explaining the reason for the purchase of Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax. Xbox boss Phil Spencer stated that the company has finally acquired Bethesda to avoid exclusivity of Starfield on playStation. “When we acquired ZeniMax, one of the impulses was that Sony had made a deal with Deathloop and Ghostwire paying Bethesda not to release those games on Xbox.Spencer said.
“The discussion when we heard that Starfield might end up skipping Xbox too, (led to that) we couldn’t be in a position with a third place console where we were further behind in ownership of our content, so we’ve had to secure content to remain viable in business”. Thus, Microsoft ended up paying $7.5 billion for ZeniMax Media in 2020.
Microsoft resents talking about the future
Although it cannot reveal if The Elder Scrolls VI will reach a PlayStation console, Microsoft has confirmed the remaining development time of the highly anticipated Bethesda project, a company it acquired for Starfield as “last straw that broke the camel’s back”. In this way, the title will be released next September 6 only on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC as the first new universe in 25 years by Bethesda Game Studios, unfolding in a next-gen RPG set among the stars.