Why wouldn’t Microsoft make Bethesda Games exclusive to Xbox?

Microsoft’s $ 7.5 billion acquisition of Zenimax and Bethesda appears to be getting approved by different regulatory commissions in different regions as we speak, and it seems that ultimately nothing will stand in the way of the deal.

And that has led to the return of a common question, what is Microsoft going to do? do with the new Bethesda games once they arrive? I mean, will they be exclusive to Xbox (and PC), and will Microsoft deliberately keep them away from PlayStation and potential streaming rivals like Amazon Luna and Google Stadia?

The more I consider the question, the more it just doesn’t make sense that Microsoft I would not do it Do this, given your current situation and your goals. While some ongoing offerings should be awkwardly left, such as exclusive timed PlayStation access to Arkane’s Deathloop, the future? That is a different story. And yes, I can imagine entering an era where Doom, Prey, Dishonored, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and Starfield are Xbox exclusive.

Here are two main points:

1) Microsoft’s main weakness above anything the rest is that it lacks the kind of massive and mandatory first-hand exclusives compared to what Sony (and Nintendo) have been releasing for years. It has some bright spots, Forza, Ori, the occasional sequel to Gears. And it has potentially promising projects on the horizon like Halo Infinite and a new Perfect Dark. And yet a generation and a half has effectively spent losing this battle. Suddenly they have acquired a study with multiple GOTY contending IPs on their list, so I’m willing to bet that Microsoft would forgo software sales on PlayStation to ensure Xbox was the only place to play those games. It’s like asking Sony why they don’t sell Uncharted or God of War on Xbox, even though they could move millions of additional copies. You keep something important with that exclusivity.

2) Microsoft’s main goal right now is to encourage adoption of Xbox Game Pass. Game Pass is essentially a must-have if you’re in the Xbox ecosystem, but the goal is to get people to outside of that ecosystem to adopt it. And in this case, it’s more of a Netflix situation. Microsoft has taken the drastic step of offering its exclusive releases as Day One included in Xbox Game Pass, and it will almost certainly extend to Bethesda titles. Now, it may be enough to offer them “free” on Game Pass compared to $ 70 or what they would cost on PS5, and again, that’s not what we normally see in models like this. Netflix is ​​not offering the new season of Stranger Things to buy on Amazon Prime for $ 29.99 at launch. It’s only on Netflix and it’s a draw for people to subscribe because it’s literally nowhere else.

I’m not saying they do this for all games, and there may be something in between, like offering some titles to other platforms long after, but you don’t spend $ 7.5 billion on one of the best game studios in the world and do not Do your best to make sure the purchase strengthens your playing arm in every way possible. And that probably means a lot of exclusivity. If the situation were reversed, and Sony bought, say, CDPR, I don’t think there will be much doubt about whether or not The Witcher 4 would make it to Xbox.

We will see what the next steps are now that this deal is being finalized. But most of all, I predict that if you want to play Bethesda games in the future, at the very least, you will need Game Pass, if not a real Xbox.

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