The Console Wars Are Heating Up As Microsoft Buys Bethesda Studios To Boost Xbox Lineup

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The console wars just got a hell of a lot more interesting.

After complaints that upcoming XBOX console didn’t have enough games upon release, Microsoft went out and bought Zenimax Media, the parent company of Bethesda studios.

https://twitter.com/Nibellion/status/1308033831438635015

Via Bloomberg

Microsoft is launching a new generation of Xbox consoles in November at the same time as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 5. The games lined up for the new Xbox have so far disappointed some players, especially after Microsoft delayed its biggest title, Halo Infinite, until next year. The software maker has been adding new game creators and content, including acquiring six studios in 2018 and one last year. It spent $2.5 billion to purchase the maker of Minecraft in 2014.

Microsoft is leaning on its game subscription service, Game Pass, to draw in users and boost revenue and needs compelling content to attract customers to that product. Microsoft said Game Pass now has 15 million subscribers, up from the 10 million it announced in April.

Microsoft confirmed the news with a press release.

Today is a special day, as we welcome some of the most accomplished studios in the games industry to Xbox. We are thrilled to announce Microsoft has entered into an agreement to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks.

As one of the largest, most critically acclaimed, privately held game developers and publishers in the world, Bethesda is an incredibly talented group of 2,300 people worldwide who make up some of the most accomplished creative studios in our industry across Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios. These are the teams responsible for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, Quake, Starfield and many more.

It’s currently unclear is Microsoft is planning on keeping Bethesda’s future games as XBOX exclusives or if it’s just a move to increase game pass subscriptions.