Micro .ft invests heavily in its Xbox gaming franchise.
James Martin / CNET
MicroSft’s Xbox team on Monday significantly increased its list of game development studios, announcing the purchase of Zenimax Media for 7. 7.5 billion in cash. The entertainment company is owned by several industry-leading game developers, including Bethesda Soft Works, creator of post-apocalyptic Fallout games, and the fantasy series Elder Scroll. It also owns ID Software software, known for its Doom, Rage and Wolfenstein shooting game franchises.
The move brings the number of in-house Xbox game development studios to 23, up from the previous 15, giving it control over some of the most popular franchises in the game industry. Microsoft plans to run Bethesda as its own division, with leadership and structure intact.
“As a game developer and publisher, Bethesda has had success in every category of games, and together we will further our ambition to empower more than three billion gamers worldwide,” Satya Nadella, CEO of MicroSFT, said in a statement.
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The two companies had already hailed the deal as an extension of a close partnership that has spanned decades. “The big winners today are our fans,” Robert Altman, CEO of Zenimax, said in a statement. “Our games can only get better.”
The move comes just weeks before the November launch of its next big video game console. X 500 Xbox Series X And . 300 Xbox Series S., Both smarter sharp scenes and faster gameplay than their predecessors. The new game console will compete against Sony Play 500 PlayStation 5 And Disc 400 Display PlayStation 5 Digital Edition, Also coming out in November.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Microsoft’s Xenimax also comes after a failed bid for a stake in China-based social network Ticket Ok. Attracted over 2 billion downloads worldwide And U.S. More than 100 million users. The tech giant spent at least the last month Negotiation ownership of some part of the application In an effort to address national security concerns raised by President Donald Trump, the U.S. U.S. if not purchased by the company. Threatened to ban the app from the App Stores.
For Micro .ft, its biggest video game purchase ever is not just to enhance its game studio slate. With the purchase of an established company with a string of hits decades back, Microsoft has not focused on the Space and Series Halo and Forza racing game series as their military titles. It also keeps MicroStuff insulated from its expected launch title, Halo Infinity, due to delays from this holiday until 2021, leaving it without a major launch title to compete with Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales against PS5.
“Today is a landmark step,” Spencer said in a statement, adding that Bethesda’s list of hit games would be added to MicroSt’s Xbox Games Pass service, which now has more than 15 million subscribers.
