After the industry-shaking acquisition of Bethesda and parent company Zenimax early this month, Microsoft is already seeking to capitalize on the $7.5 billion dollar purchase. As big as the news was, it wasn’t exactly shocking to those who could read the writing on the wall.
Bethesda and Sony have had some pretty major disagreements in the past, with the two unable to reconcile certain key differences, such as mod support. Modding is a feature heavily implemented into many Bethesda games, namely in the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises. Ultimately, it seems that Bethesda has chafed historically under Sony when it comes to how much freedom creators should have.
With Microsoft’s acquisition, they’ve also revealed their intentions for each of their new franchises and creative studios: they intend to bring all of Bethesda’s franchises to Xbox Game Pass, specifically mentioning upcoming titles such as Starfield.
The companies also revealed that first-party games, Starfield being mentioned specifically, will be coming to Xbox Game Pass on day 1 release, saying, “Microsoft will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams and will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass. 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.”
No, this doesn’t mean that we’re any closer to getting the two upcoming games any time soon. In fact, Bethesda’s Todd Howard has confirmed the opposite, saying he likes to “wait as long as possible” to reveal their games.
Elder Scrolls 6 hasn’t even been mentioned in regards to Microsoft’s purchase, but it’s safe to say at this point that it will be available to the Game Pass on release as well.
However, Xbox One owners can expect to see games such as Doom Eternal as soon as October 1, 2020, just next week!
Non-Xbox owners shouldn’t fear, however. Xbox head Phil Spencer has already stated that the purchase is more about increasing the value of the Game Pass more than it is about locking down exclusives.
Increasing the value of Game Pass is exactly what the acquisition will do, too. Before the purchase, Game Pass subscriptions had already exceeded 15 million users. With the new Xbox set to release this holiday season, Microsoft could see a huge jump in subscribers, especially as each of the franchises makes its appearance on the Game Pass.
For more information on games coming to Xbox Game Pass, it’s recommended to visit the Xbox website for more information.
