There has been some big news in 2020 for the video game industry. Not only was 2020 going to be the year that both Microsoft and Sony would be bringing out their next-generation video game consoles into the marketplace, but it would be the year we see some big acquisitions. Microsoft is looking to flesh out their line of first-party studios and rather build up new studios on their own, the company opted to seek out other studios to acquire.
It wasn’t long ago that we got the word of Microsoft acquiring ZeniMax Media for over $7 billion. This is a massive number but it comes packed with several studios for Microsoft to make use out of. Included in the mix are the likes of Arkane, MachineGames, id Software, and Tango Gameworks. However, easily the biggest company out of the bunch would be Bethesda which had some gamers wondering just what the future of the beloved franchises would end up next.
Bethesda is widely known for the likes of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises. With several installments released into the market for players to enjoy, some had assumed that the next installments to come out would be Microsoft exclusives. We’ve been waiting to see just what Microsoft has plans for but now it looks like we finally have an answer thanks to Microsoft’s Xbox CFO, Tim Stuart.
Tim Stuart was speaking during the Jefferies Interactive Entertainment when Bethesda came up. According to the Xbox CFO, the plan is not to remove content from rival platforms, but instead, the focus would be Microsoft’s Xbox ecosystem to be first or played best. We’re not sure if there would be other incentives to get the game on Microsoft’s owned platforms and services, but it may be a relief to those that didn’t plan on getting an Xbox Series X or the Xbox Game Pass subscription service.