Microsoft pays 7.5 billion dollars for one of the largest video game studios in the industry.

Xbox has just made official the purchase of ZeniMax Media for 7.5 billion dollars, the parent company that owns Bethesda Softworks , confirming that the entertainment giant responsible for major brands such as The Elder Scrolls , Fallout or DOOM series becomes part of Xbox Game Studios, adding to its ranks more than 2,300 new employees spread across some of the most talented studios in the video game industry.

In addition to Bethesda Softworks , currently working on The Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield , the purchase includes the legendary team at Id Software , authors of DOOM, Quake, and many other great first-person shooter games, plus Arkane Studios , parents of Dishonored. and Prey; MachineGames , authors of the latest Wolfenstein, as well as Tango Gameworks, fathers of the fantastic The Evil Within and the promising Ghostwhire Tokyo.

“Bethesda games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world,” said Phil Spencer in an official statement . “Our teams have an upcoming and historic story working together, from the incredible first DOOM, and its id Tech technology, to innovating the world of PC video gaming, as well as bringing the incredible The Elder Scrolls to consoles for the first time on the first Xbox. III: Morrowind “, adds the boss of Xbox.

From Microsoft they highlight “the shared vision to give opportunities to creators and their games to reach a greater number of players in many possible ways”. And now they will walk that path together, and it won’t take long to see their first steps, as with this purchase it has been confirmed that all Bethesda games will be included in the Xbox Game Pass catalog . “One of the things that excites me the most is seeing our roadmap with Bethesda and the games they work on, some announced and many others unannounced.”

For its part, Bethesda has highlighted this historic moment through the mouth of veteran Pete Hines. “The world, our industry and our company have changed a lot in the 34 years since Bethesda Softworks was founded. Today, everything is changing again . And I know that that raises several questions,” says the company’s communications manager. “But the important thing is that we are still Bethesda. We continue to work on the same games as yesterday, made by the same studios that we have worked with for years, and those games will be published by us.”

What prompted Bethesda to join the Xbox team? “It will allow us to make even better games going forward,” says Pete Hines. “Microsoft is an incredible partner and gives us access to resources that will make us a better publisher and developer. We think that means better games for you to play. Simply put, we believe that change is an important part of getting better. We believe in forcing ourselves to be better. To innovate. To grow. ”

This announcement comes just hours before the Xbox Series X and Series S pre-order campaign opens , which seems like the perfect time to get the attention of video game fans around the world.

Please support our page theGeek.games on Patreon, so we can continue to write you the latest gaming, movie and tech news and reviews as an independent magazine.
Become a Patron!