Microsoft Buys ZeniMax Media; Cortana To Soon Feature Bethesda Conversation Bugs

Yes, That Does Mean They Now Own PS5 Exclusive Titles

Microsoft grabbed some spare change and popped over to Zenimax to make a $7.5 billion deal that they couldn’t refuse, taking ownership of the company and all it’s assets.  That means Bethesda is now a Microsoft owned studio, along with id Software and Arkane Studios as well; and all of the game franchises they represent.

In hindsight there was a bit of a hint, with several Bethesda titles appearing on the Xbox Game Pass recently but the purchase is still somewhat of a surprise.  Amusingly both Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop are included in this deal; two games exclusive to Sony who have been using them to promote the soon to be available PlayStation 5.  As Microsoft made it clear that every upcoming first-party game included in this deal will be available on the subscription service “on the same day they launch” one might even wonder if they will indeed appear on XBox Game Pass at launch.

So far Microsoft’s promise is to leave the franchises alone, hopefully they stick to that and you won’t see Master Chief show up in a new Doom or Minecraft make it into Fallout.  On the plus side it does make the XBox Game Pass a little more attractive, even if it doesn’t help the Microsoft Store all that much.