In September of last year, Microsoft announced a $7.5 billion deal that would see them purchase Bethesda. It has long been discussed how much of an impact this will have on exclusive games. And now, we finally have answers.
Bethesda announced that Microsoft had sealed the deal via Twitter earlier today:
— Bethesda (@bethesda) March 9, 2021
Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently write a post on Xbox Wire, explaining exactly what is on the horizon after the huge acquisition. Of course, Bethesda is home to some of the world’s biggest video game franchises, such as Elder Scrolls and Fallout. In the post, he said “some” upcoming Bethesda games won’t get released on PlayStation. He plays coy on which specific games won’t be on the PS5.
In addition, he reveals that many will be exclusive to Xbox, PC, and Game Pass:
This is the next step in building an industry-leading first party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community. With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.”
It’s a huge move from Microsoft to purchase Bethesda. For years, they’ve fallen short with the number of exclusive titles compared to Sony. PlayStation has an entire slate of bestselling exclusives including God of War, The Last of Us, and Spider-Man. Microsoft has a few exclusive games, but it doesn’t stand out as much as Sony. The purchase of Bethesda could very much see a turn in the tides. While unlikely, it’s entirely possible that we could see Elder Scrolls 6 as an Xbox exclusive. However, it’s much more likely that he’s talking about games further in the future. A game like Elder Scrolls 6 — with such a scope — seems destined to release on all consoles.
At the same time, Sony seems to be interested in expanding the reach of their exclusive games. Horizon Zero Dawn is now available for PC on Steam. And post-apocalyptic game Days Gone will soon be making its way to PC.
Do you want to see Bethesda games as Xbox exclusives? Let me know in the comments below!
