Microsoft is moving to acquire Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash.
It’s a huge statement of intent from Microsoft, which will now be able to count The Elder Scrolls and Fallout developer Bethesda among its first-party studios.
The planned acquisition will include all of ZeniMax’s publishing offices and development studios, including Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.
Bethesda franchises including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein, Dishonored and more will also be included in the deal. The company’s current structure and leadership team will remain intact.
Microsoft has revealed that all of Bethesda’s franchises will also be added to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC, making the subscription service a more tantalizing proposition as we head into the next console generation.
“With the addition of Bethesda, Microsoft will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams and will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass,” reads a press release. “This includes Microsoft’s intent to bring Bethesda’s future games into Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or PC, like Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.”
ZeniMax chairman and CEO Robert Altman said the deal is a “natural progression” of its long running partnership with Microsoft. “This is a thrilling day for this company, our employees, and our fans. We have enjoyed a close partnership with Microsoft for decades, and this deal is a natural progression of those years working together,” he commented.
“The big winners today are our fans. We are continuing to develop our slate of AAA games, but now with Microsoft’s scale and entire Game Stack, our games can only get better.”
The transaction is expected to close in the second half of the 2021 fiscal year, subject to customary closing conditions and the completion of a regulatory review.