BREAKING: Microsoft Has Purchased Bethesda

It’s been confirmed that Microsoft has purchased Bethesda, giving the Xbox company the rights to games including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

Elder Scrolls 6
Credit: Bethesda

In a statement on the acquisition, Xbox says the following: “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.

For those unaware, the move means that Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios now fall under the Microsoft umbrella.

Credit: Bethesda

These are the teams responsible for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey, Quake, Starfield and many more. Does this mean these franchises will now be Xbox exclusives? Only time will tell.

A massive acquisition, and surely one which could sway the number of sales of the next-gen consoles, the Xbox Series X and PS5.

Microsoft has stated: “Just as they took the bold first steps to bring The Elder Scrolls franchise to the original Xbox, Bethesda were early supporters of Xbox Game Pass, bringing their games to new audiences across devices and have been actively investing in new gaming technology like cloud streaming of games.

Credit: Microsoft

“We will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass for console and PC. One of the things that has me most excited is seeing the roadmap with Bethesda’s future games, some announced and many unannounced, to Xbox console and PC including Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.”

Check out the full statement on the acquisition right here on the Xbox website. How do you feel about the news?

Featured Image Credit: Bethesda