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Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

• wpdev_63 6y ago
  Holy sh!t. Bethesda is huge! Well I was just thinking the other day that Microsoft really doesn't have any first party studio that are really as good as Sony's first party. IMO they didn't release a game 'this' gen that makes picking up a xbox one worth it. This could change that with fallout and doom. Also this allows them to bring the ID tech engine under their stewardship.... I just hope that they don't trash the franchises in an attempt to bolster game pass.
  • jhasse 6y ago
    ID tech is one of the biggest Vulkan users. I really hope they don't port it to Directx 12 instead :(
    • bzb5 6y ago
      When I saw Doom 2016 running on OpenGL I was shocked. I would’ve never thought you could write an AAA game with it. It made me wonder why game developers use DX instead.
      • MaxBarraclough 6y ago
        If you want to target Xbox, you need to write a D3D renderer anyway (although the Xbox API has some significant differences, if I understand correctly). There's little point writing an OpenGL renderer if your target platforms are Windows, Xbox, and PlayStation (which has its own graphics API). Also, my understanding is that on Windows, OpenGL generally runs into more issues with driver bugs than D3D does.
        • gambiting 6y ago
          I work for a large video games company and we usually write two backends - DirectX for Windows and Xbox, and a special one for PlayStation. That is changing slightly with Stadia, because that forces us to write a Vulkan renderer too. But on the few games that have it, the DX12 performance is better on windows than that of the Vulkan renderer backend - so we haven't released it to the public.
          • shrewduser 6y ago
            you should release vulkan for proton / linux users i think
          • KitDuncan 6y ago
            Please do release it to the public! Just for Proton and to experiment/bechmark.
            • monsieurbanana 6y ago
              As much as I'd like that, I can hear from here the outcries from the gaming community. "Your game is bugged! It doesn't work! I want a refund!" "But the vulkan renderer is only tested on Stadia, it's not officially supported and the game is free." "I. Want. A. Refund."
              • MaxBarraclough 6y ago
                Put another way, then: doing so would mean taking on a considerable support burden.
              • jhasse 6y ago
                Make it a command line flag ;)
                • MaxBarraclough 6y ago
                  Not a bad idea, especially if it's something like --experimental-vulkan. Unlikely to get blamed if it goes wrong, that way.
        • smileybarry 6y ago
          > Also, my understanding is that on Windows, OpenGL generally runs into more issues with driver bugs than D3D does. I'm not sure if that's the case anymore, but it definitely has a bad rep on Windows. Initially (throughout XP and maybe some of Vista) OpenGL support on Windows was done by a OpenGL -> DirectX translation layer, so performance was always worse in OpenGL mode unless a game's Direct3D implementation was especially awful. This stopped being the case when NVIDIA started shipping a full OpenGL driver. (I'm not sure when AMD/ATI started shipping theirs)
          • qayxc 6y ago
            > Initially (throughout XP and maybe some of Vista) OpenGL support on Windows was done by a OpenGL Initially (Windows 95), OpenGL support was provided directly by the OS. Starting with Windows 98, Microsoft stopped updating the OGL version of their reference driver, so users were stuck with OGL 1.1 unless the graphics card driver shipped with a custom OpenGL implementation. So whenever an application uses an OGL version higher than v1.1, it is provided by the graphics card driver and that has nothing to do with DirectX. There is no translation layer in that case (unless of course, that's what the driver does internally, but that's up to the manufacturer). TL;DR Custom OGL drivers shipped with every graphics card that supported OGL in Windows since 1998.
            • smileybarry 6y ago
              That hasn't been the case, then, because I clearly remember OpenGL being translates to DirectX in XP/Vista days. Whether it was because anything >1.1 called that up or because the driver vendors chose translation over native, I don't know. Original link seems to be dead but Slashdot references Vista layering OpenGL on top of Direct3D: https://slashdot.org/story/05/08/06/177251/windows-vista-may-degrade-opengl https://slashdot.org/story/05/08/06/177251/windows-vista-may...
              • qayxc 6y ago
                That comment references something else entirely - namely the Aero rendering system of the OS. This didn't affect applications that didn't use the Aero glass scheme (it was an option during window creation), however, or apps running in full-screen mode. The Aero glass scheme was hardware accelerated and only worked with Direct3D, thus any OGL context created for a window using this renderer would have to run via Direct3D. This is a very special case and as noted earlier, easily circumvented by simply not using this feature in your app.
      • orclev 6y ago
        Because game developers mostly don't pick the backend, game engine developers do. The vast majority of game developers pick a game engine and that drives most of their other technical decisions. There are really only a dozen game engines that have enough market share to matter, and a decent chunk of the biggest ones were built on top of DX for various reasons. OpenGL, while a great concept, was a fairly flawed execution for quite a while (its gotten a lot better in the last 10 years or so), so I can at least partially understand why in the past someone who doesn't care at all about cross-platform support might have steered clear of it.
  • MaximumMadness 6y ago
    This is right of nose and defines exactly why MSFT pivoted to the Game Pass strategy - there were no console-moving titles (besides Sea of Thieves, that game rocks) What we could see now is these games coming to Game Pass early, or even getting Xbox exclusive content. Theres a low chance they dont drop on other platforms (Skyrim on your Windows phone?) but still a big chip for MSFT to have on hand.
  • actuator 6y ago
    If I am not mistaken they have some few PS5 exclusives under development. Is there any new IP that Bethesda is working on, which can be potentially a Xbox/PC exclusive?
    • iamericfletcher 6y ago
      Sans Socom 2 remake, PS5 is going to be absolute garbage.
      • aixi 6y ago
        Demon Souls remake?
      • dkersten 6y ago
        Given how many of the PS4 exclusives were absolutely amazing (some of the best games in the last decade in my personal opinion), I have no reason to think that PS5 won’t have some incredible games too. Hell, between Demons Souls and the next Horizon Zero Dawn, there’s enough there to make me want one.
    • manojlds 6y ago
      Deathloop too, which was just shown off in the PS5 event.
  • Doches 6y ago
    Reading this the second time, I think it might be one of the best "we're being acquired by X" announcements I've ever read. Excited but restrained, and it acknowledges (somewhat implicitly, but still) that there's going to be _quite a bit_ of trepidation in Bethesda's fanbase over the change. "WHEN THE HELL WILL YOU TELL ME ABOUT STARFIELD?" and the rest of that paragraph actually fills me with a pretty high degree of confidence that this will go well. That, and Nadella-era Microsoft's surprisingly good track record in recent acquisitions.
    • IshKebab 6y ago
      Really? I was immediately unimpressed when they started trying to claim they did it so they can make better games, rather than because Microsoft offered them a boatload of money.
      • darknavi 6y ago
        Why not both? So far Microsoft has been pretty "hands off" with the development process of a lot of the IPs it has acquired.
        • the_hoser 6y ago
          No, not at all. They've been pretty hands-off with their most recent acquisition, but one studio does not a trend make.
          • SahAssar 6y ago
            Looking outside of the gaming space their recent acquisitions seem to have gone fine, no? For example Github seems to go well, Linkedin was always pretty shit and unethical, so I'm not sure it's any better or worse. Citus seems to still be going well and still offers on-prem or enterprise versions on other clouds than Azure. Xamarin is more open-sourced since Microsoft took over. IMO, (and if you told me I'd say this 10 years ago I'd say you're crazy) of the big tech companies right now I think MS might be the best steward.
  • DominikD 6y ago
    No Microsoft game has monetization as bad as Fallout 76. So whatever Bethesda does from now on can't be worse than what it does today. ;)
    • Whiteshadow12 6y ago
      This should be filed under the "Tell me in 2 years" section.
      • DominikD 6y ago
        Sure thing. But this also changes the reference point. If the entire video game industry is THAT predatory by 2022, it's hard to single out Microsoft for that and hold me responsible for my optimism today. ;)
      • Sebb767 6y ago
        Let us hope, at least
    • iruoy 6y ago
      What would you say is Microsoft's worst game for microtransactions? I've played Forza Horizon 4 for a while and you can buy cars in that game, but you earn enough points that they all become pretty cheap after only a few hours in the game.
      • DominikD 6y ago
        Forza Street probably. Anything with microtransactions is bound to be bad for customers but FS is probably the most criticized MS product to date (and yeah, it's a re-skinned, acquired product but I'd still count it against Microsoft since they attach themselves to it).
      • gambiting 6y ago
        The biggest issue for me was that certain in-game cars were locked behind the spin-the-wheel game, and while(thankfully) there was no way to spend real life money for more spins, it still felt absolutely shit that I could have 100+ in-game hours, hundreds of millions of in-game currency, and yet no, I can't have that Mercedes E63 AMG, because it can only be won through spins. In Horizon 3 you could just buy any car at any point, it was just a matter of getting enough currency.
  • liability 6y ago
    Isn't Minecraft a bigger game than anything Sony makes? It's owned by Microsoft but isn't an xbox exclusive.
    • actuator 6y ago
      Minecraft is just a single game. Sony has a bunch of very good console exclusives under its name.
      • liability 6y ago
        Yeah but that single game has sold as much as ten 'The Last of Us'es. Microsoft sells their best games on Sony's platform too.
        • Cthulhu_ 6y ago
          And that's just the game itself, on top of that there's millions of kids running around in Minecraft merchandise. (source: there's one in my house <_<)
      • deleted 6y ago
        [deleted]
    • dageshi 6y ago
      It was cross platform before the Microsoft acquisition. I think Minecraft is sort of a special case, it's essentially its own genre.
  • theandrewbailey 6y ago
    > Also this allows them to bring the ID tech engine under their stewardship. It doesn't have to be id tech, but can they make Todd Howard use some other engine than whatever Gamebryo monstrosity Bethesda Softworks been using for 20 years?
    • the_hoser 6y ago
      Only do that if you never want to see another Elder Scrolls/Fallout game release again.
    • mhh__ 6y ago
      Combining Bethesda with Id could be a winning formula as long as Bethesda is bullied into getting out of their comfort zone
  • phone8675309 6y ago
    There's no way they could trash any franchise worse than Bethesda has trashed Fallout.
    • macspoofing 6y ago
      I think that's overstating it. Fallout 4 was well received even if it was a little disappointing. So it really is just Fallout 76. They can recover from that, especially considering that Fallout 76 wasn't even a proper mainline sequel.
      • WorldMaker 6y ago
        A lot of people think that Fallout 76 did recover with the last expansion pack (and cross-play and Game Pass). Microsoft acquiring Bethesda even further insures at the very least it will stay a Game Pass mainstay for some time now. (Also, it is interesting to note that with the Bethesda purchase, Microsoft will now own "all" of Fallout and the "Fallout diaspora" caused by Interplay's death, as Microsoft already owned development studios Oblivion [made FO:Vegas, had developers involved with FO1 and FO2] and inXile [had developers on FO1, FO2, and FO-predecessor Wasteland 1/2/3, and was in a blood feud of sorts with Oblivion].)
        • athms 6y ago
          >Oblivion Obsidian, the company is called Obsidian Entertainment. That said, the folks at Obsidian (especially the creators of the original Fallout and New Vegas) have said they have no interest in doing a Fallout game. Tim Cain specifically mentioned during the Outer Worlds Q&A that the Fallout ship had sailed.
          • WorldMaker 6y ago
            Hah, an easy typo/slipup to make when talking about Fallout/Bethesda (due to ES: Oblivion). I think that Obsidian is better off doing non-Fallout things (and personally Outer Worlds is so much "Fallout Alternate Space Timeline" already that I'd much rather see them continue with Outer Worlds as the closest thing they ever again do to Fallout). It's just interesting to point out how many of the "Fallout birds" will come home to roost at Microsoft.
  • partiallypro 6y ago
    Microsoft doesn't care about exclusives that much, imo. Sure, a few here and there, but overall they just want people to use their software. That's why their new "exclusive" titles are also on Xbox One. Microsoft will make money by selling their Bethesda titles to PlayStation users, etc. They might make a few of their titles exclusive, but Fallout and Doom won't be among them.
    • kwanbix 6y ago
      Isn't XBOX ONE from MS?
    • objclxt 6y ago
      What? They absolutely will make them exclusive. Can you play Halo on the PlayStation? No, for the same reason you can’t play Uncharted on the Xbox. Microsoft will happily support Windows gaming, for obvious reasons. But the PlayStation for a franchise like Fallout or Elder Scrolls? I will believe it when I see it. It makes little strategic sense to offer those titles on Sony hardware when Microsoft have their own console.
      • WorldMaker 6y ago
        Microsoft's Mojang titles are still on PlayStation and with the xCloud partnership with Sony, things are probably going to get weird on what is considered an "Xbox Exclusive" to the point where "Xbox on PlayStation powered by xCloud" sounds almost a reasonable expectation to happen this console generation.
  • redisman 6y ago
    That hasn't been true for a while now. Xbox Game Studios has acquired Rare, Obsidian, Double Fine, Ninja Theory, Mojang...
  • basch 6y ago
    >Also this allows them to bring the ID tech engine under their stewardship.... I'm surprised that isnt more commented on here. Everyone is focused on creative IP. Owning id Tech 6 is or should be a play against Epic, Unity, Crytek etc. 1-4 were open source, and ZeniMax clamped down 5-6. I can see Microsoft marketing id Tech's long open source history, and transforming it into an Amazon Lumberyard competitor.
    • macspoofing 6y ago
      >Owning id Tech 6 is or should be a play against Epic, Unity, Crytek etc. Does Microsoft even want to compete against their customers/partners in this space? After all, MS may not want to alienate them to the point they won't release their games for the Xbox.
      • WorldMaker 6y ago
        Microsoft is a developer company and their oldest division is developer tools. They've made several attempts into the game engine / game engine adjacent space over the years, though rarely saw wins outside of low level DirectX. (XNA will be most remembered as an indie dev play, but a key piece of XNA was its content pipeline and Microsoft tried but didn't succeed that well at trying to replace the mostly mish-mash of custom tools that most AAA studios use for content pipelines for something somewhat more standardized; though of course with the easy retrospect failure of being hobbled by focusing on Xbox first/primarily.) So productionizing id Tech 6 isn't an entirely crazy idea for Microsoft in terms of something that makes cultural sense for them. Game Engines can be an important dev tool; especially in the increasing interest in non-game capital-E Enterprise in game engines for visualization tools (including AR/MR/VR). But yes, Microsoft seems to have a good working relationship with Unity at this point and probably wants to try to keep a good relationship with Epic, so I don't envy whatever product strategist would have to figure out if that minefield would be worth disturbing.
        • basch 6y ago
          I honestly don't see it being the kind of competition that ruffles those feathers. Microsoft wants developers developers developers to fill Game Pass and run their Infrastructure on Azure, and Microsoft Hearts Open Source. Microsoft open sourcing id Tech 6, and then saying Azure/XboxStore is the best places to build your game and host it, regardless of which engine you want, is the cold war, mutually assured rising tide raises all boats, kind of competition. What Microsoft doesn't want is Epic or Google getting all the power, becoming the standard, and then being able to strongarm them. Competition, especially open competition, keeps the players more honest. It's just another entry on this page, albeit a strong one. https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/gaming https://dotnet.microsoft.com/apps/gaming
  • websap 6y ago
    Yup, I have the same feeling. I've had an Xbox since the Xbox 360 days: Xbox 360 -> Xbox One S -> Xbox One X But, looking at the different showcases. Definitely getting a PS5 this time. I don't do many multi-player games and actually enjoy story based single player games. Looking forward to play God of War, Unchartered, Spider Man, etc. Maybe this will give Microsoft the boost they need to make some fun next gen games.
    • rawbot 6y ago
      Then you might be getting the best deal with the new PS Plus Collection offer. You'll get to play some of the best games of the past generation immediately on release of the PS5.
• dom96 6y ago
  Wow, amazing to see Microsoft really being aggressive when it comes to their games line up for Xbox. With the strong offering they are showing with the Xbox All Access I am in general really impressed with them.
• abluecloud 6y ago
  microsoft are seeing that the money is going to be made in a subscription model for games. by purchasing the studios it makes it much easier for them to bundle games (possibly with exclusivity) with their gamepass. i know i'm more likely to subscribe to gamepass (and keep it running for years) vs. the 1/2 games i buy a year.
  • staticman2 6y ago
    I wonder if they are moving to a subscription model because players hate the Windows store and basically refuse to use it instead of Steam when purchasing games. Having failed at running a store I wonder if they've decided plan b is running a rental service.
    • 013a 6y ago
      Well if nothing else, it makes people use their new React Native Xbox app, which is quite possibly the worst windows application Microsoft has ever produced (and they've produced a lot of very bad ones).
    • iruoy 6y ago
      I think the Microsoft store is pretty good actually. I got 6 months of game pass for PC and didn't encounter any problems.
      • staticman2 6y ago
        When it works it's fine but sometimes the window store breaks and you basically have to reinstall Windows- in whole or in part- to get it running again. It also is designed to prevent modding and doesn't work with Steam Link for remote play even though normal non-steam games work with Steam Link just fine.
        • mikewhy 6y ago
          GloSC[1] will get you steam controller mapping / streaming for UWP apps (and more, but I've never had an issue ie adding UPlay games as non-steam games). Here's Minecraft Dungeons running on iOS via Steam Remote Play that I just recorded[2]. Also, Windows Store / GamePass doesn't stop modding, as Crusader King 3 proves. [1]: https://alia5.github.io/GloSC/ https://alia5.github.io/GloSC/ [2]: https://imgur.com/a/Zwz9yvV https://imgur.com/a/Zwz9yvV
• _the_inflator 6y ago
  Wow, what a press release! Microsoft is serious about great content for its Xbox/Windows 10 platform. The press note still caused some fear in me. Years ago (FASA?) such a move meant closure, since MS was not really in the gaming industry business content wise.
  • trey-jones 6y ago
    It's nothing but heebie jeebies for me. Just Anti-Trust issues. I guess in 2020 we don't do exclusivity agreements, we just buy the fuck out of you.
• ryneandal 6y ago
  Looks like the total being reported elsewhere is $7.5B. - https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/370520/Microsoft_buys_ZeniMax_Media_owner_of_The_Elder_Scrolls_dev_Bethesda_for_75_billion.php https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/370520/Microsoft_buys_Ze... -https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1308028640488292352 https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1308028640488292352
  • sgerenser 6y ago
    Even 7.5B is still only 15% of the failed TikTok deal. Seems like a bargain in comparison.
    • ryneandal 6y ago
      3x the Mojang purchase[1], and I still think it's worth it. 1: https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1308029942018510848 https://twitter.com/jasonschreier/status/1308029942018510848
      • jon-wood 6y ago
        3x Mojang makes it sound like MS got a really good deal on Bethesda, at the time they bought Mojang they were really buying a single (very popular) game, while with Bethesda they get a huge back catalogue, some really big franchises, and ID with all their knowledge of engine development.
        • criley2 6y ago
          FYI, Minecraft is the best selling game of all time and has probably sold more copies than every game Bethesda has ever made combined.
          • mrlala 6y ago
            And merchandise up the fucking wazoo... that's probably where microsoft is getting a lot of minecraft money as well.
• DJBunnies 6y ago
  Maybe we'll get a followup to new vegas.
  • G4E 6y ago
    We had it, it's called The Outer World ;) (I know, I know...)
    • Tsiklon 6y ago
      Bethesda and Obsidian are now sister studios - it is possible...
      • G4E 6y ago
        Yeah actually, I oversaw that. With the original dev from Obsidian and the license from Bethesda, it is not that far fetched.
  • throw_m239339 6y ago
    How many writers who worked on New Vegas are still in the game industry? Obsidian's latest games writing was pretty mediocre.
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• CyanLite2 6y ago
  Can they fix Fallout76 now plz?
  • Ygg2 6y ago
    Ye. You get Fallout 760 but with more spyware.
• sitkack 6y ago
  Microsoft now "owns" Quake? That is ironic.
  • fuball63 6y ago
    Can you clarify what you mean? I recently got into developing on the Quake 2 engine, which I think is an amazing piece of software, so I'm kinda obsessed with all things Quake right now.
    • Goronmon 6y ago
      Quake is made by id Software. ZeniMax Media owns id Software. Microsoft just aquired ZeniMax Media.
      • tehbeard 6y ago
        That's stating a chain of ownership, not why it's ironic..
        • 013a 6y ago
          Its my understanding that, back in the day, Quake was "the" poster child game for OpenGL's capabilities over D3D. Similar to today, how Doom Eternal is "the" poster child for Vulkan. And now Microsoft owns id software.
          • fuball63 6y ago
            This makes sense, thanks.
    • pjmlp 6y ago
      Carmack is the only reason why OpenGL is at all relevant in PC gaming as it was miniGL that made it popular in first place, against Glide. Later on he changed his mind regarding OpenGL vs DirectX, but there are legions of wannabe game developers that worshiped his opinions regarding OpenGL. See my sibling post regarding his change of opinion.
• colesantiago 6y ago
  Seems like a better deal than the vapid fad that is TikTok, in addition to them partnering with Oracle which looks like a marriage made in a hellstew. Well done Microsoft and Bethesda.
  • toyg 6y ago
    TikTok is not an investment in tech, it’s an investment in relations with the US public sector. The fact that it comes with an actual company attached is almost irrelevant for Oracle.
    • colesantiago 6y ago
      Sure, but we are talking about Microsoft here. You should look at the rumoured purchase price that Microsoft was willing to pay for TikTok.
    • throw_m239339 6y ago
      MS has plenty of "relations with the US public sector" already, they won the DOD JEDI contract. They didn't need to spend anything on TikTok. TikTok is a fad, like Instagram and other social networks.
      • redisman 6y ago
        I'm not sure about this take. Are Facebook and Twitter fads 15 something years later?
      • toyg 6y ago
        > MS has plenty of "relations with the US public sector" already Indeed, which is why in the end they didn't go for it and oracle did: one of the two cared about improving the relationship more than the other.
• MaximumMadness 6y ago
  From a strategy perspective this is an absolutely massive win for Xbox. Their entire strategy [1] for the next generation of consoles is breadth vs depth, essentially saying they cant beat Sony in exclusives so they'll offer way more value for a lower price. What this acquisition means is that the gap between potential Xbox exclusives/Day 1 releases and what Sony has is much smaller. Realistically there is a very low chance that any of the IP from this purchase becomes Xbox-exclusive, but even an early launch on Xbox shifts momentum massively. [1] https://pausebutton.substack.com/p/level-69-the-next-generation-of-strategy https://pausebutton.substack.com/p/level-69-the-next-generat...
• als0 6y ago
  Microsoft bought the legendary game company Rare some time ago. That acquisition didn't go well, so I hope this works out well for Bethesda.
  • lewisj489 6y ago
    How did it not go well? > Kinect Sports Rivals Great game > Sea of Thieves Another great title
    • wpdev_63 6y ago
      If you played Rare games from the 90s you would understand. Also those games while not considered 'bad' weren't exactly considered system sellers.
    • gimmeThaBeet 6y ago
      the things Rare has been known for were platformers (Banjo Kazooie, Donkey Kong) and FPS games (Goldeneye, Perfect Dark). Perfect Dark Zero in 2005 was probably the last title in either of those veins, which was a launch title for the 360 (soon to be 2 consoles ago!) Sea of Thieves is certainly a feather in their cap, it's just a bit disappointing that we haven't been able to see Rare take a modern crack at the things they were so known for, if that's even possible now.
      • MaximumMadness 6y ago
        To expect a company to produce the quality/type of games that they made 20+ years ago is a bit unfair, don't you think? I'd venture to guess that the folks behind those games left the studio along time ago anyway.
      • minimaxir 6y ago
        Most of the Rare staff responsible for those games have left in the decades since (many of them formed Playtonic, which was the pitch behind Yooka-Laylee)
  • carterklein13 6y ago
• francis_t_catte 6y ago
  Soon we'll just have Microsoft, Epic, and a conglomeration of EA, Activision, and Ubisoft after Bobby Kotick forces them all to merge. Facebook will bungle up any chance they have of capturing the gaming market after writing a cryptic paragraph about their legal right to request blood samples from all Oculous users in the TOS. Valve will quietly exit software development altogether, and pivot to building custom vanity knives using their hardware manufacturing experience. Can't wait for the future GAAS market!
  • eunos 6y ago
    Don't forget Tencent.
    • actuator 6y ago
      Epic is partly owned by Tencent but yeah, they are a very big fish, specially with their interests in mobile gaming.
    • gertrunde 6y ago
      And not just Tencent - there are also other companies, like NetEase, which while smaller than Tencent at about 1/6th of the size, still takes more annual revenue than EA. (Going by figures on Wikipedia).
      • eunos 6y ago
        And also Bilibili might also join the industry with Fall Guys mobile https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1297205586350747648 https://twitter.com/ZhugeEX/status/1297205586350747648
  • SSLy 6y ago
    Nintendo is self-sustainable, Apple is exerting a lot of influence among smaller studios with Arcade. Like Annapurna Interactive (which is nota bene funded by Oracle).
    • 6y ago
• Covzire 6y ago
  RIP Bethesda.
  • syshum 6y ago
    Honestly it is hard for me to see how Microsoft can ruin Bethesda any worse than ZeniMax was already.... the new Doom was ok, but the new Fallout was TERRIBLE, as with many other recent Bethesda ventures...
    • Covzire 6y ago
      It's not looking good for another TES or FO game unless they're already very well under development. EA has taught the industry that mega corps are where IP goes to die a long, slow, cash-cow squeezing death. I'm actually more disappointed in ZeniMax/Bethesda. In my mind, there is absolutely no possibility that Bethesda will ever produce another game on the level of FO3/NV now because corps do what corps do which is A/B test and second guess every decision until the product is a flavorless lump.
    • Trasmatta 6y ago
      I would say the new Doom was much more than okay. One of the best playing FPS's I've played. And everything that Arkane makes is gold.
      • weeeeelp 6y ago
        To add to the parent here, Doom was made by id Software, which generally has a huge history of making very good FPS games. I'm certain they were given a lot of leeway from the producer. Arkane's 2016 Prey was just amazing... shame so few immersive sims get made anymore.
        • syshum 6y ago
          One thing that confused me, is the Announcement says MS is acquiring Doom IP, but from what I can tell they are not acquiring id Software, so how is that going to work?
• tinyhouse 6y ago
  I'm still buying PS5 :)
• Danieru 6y ago
  Incredible that Fallout and Obsidian are now under the same roof again. The Outer Worlds was fun, and I want to see Obsidians efforts continue. Still, new Vegas 2 would be fine too.
  • bsagdiyev 6y ago
    How is The Outer Worlds? I heard it is basically space Fallout, which if that is half as good as it sounds I am all over it.
    • gravypod 6y ago
      It's Fallout: Firefly. Space western fallout game with quirky characters, hard moral dilemmas, and no one telling you what's right/wrong.
      • nix23 6y ago
        So it is a Lifesimulator?
        • mattmanser 6y ago
          It's fun, but it's pretty much on rails. It's not open world. In terms of game area progression it's more like Borderlands than Skyrim/Fallout. You can't just wander around the map to a random town and possibly spend a whole game mucking around in that area. But the quests are more like Fallout NV.
    • bzalasky 6y ago
      For me, The Outer Worlds was right there with Witcher 3 as one of the best games this generation. It really does feel like Fallout, but perhaps somewhat less open world when you're actually on a planet b/c of map boundaries and enemies too dangerous for your level to keep you on track. The diverging story lines and open space travel (once you get the requisite navkey to be able to land) compensate for that somewhat.
• liability 6y ago
  A lot of people dislike Bethesda's management, is there now any risk of ex-Bethesda managers or executives poisoning the other game studios Microsoft owns?
• CivBase 6y ago
  Bethesda/Zenimax as a whole has had a very rough time of it recently, but their IPs alone are ridiculously valuable and id Software has been killing it lately. I wonder how much Microsoft intends to shake things up. Also, if MS just wants development studios and IPs, I imagine a lot of the publishing arm of the company will be redundant. I wonder what MS intends to do about the publishing staff.
  • save_ferris 6y ago
    I really hope that they move away from the ESO/MMO format that they've focused on the last few years in regards to Elder Scrolls. I'm a huge fan of that series, but I just have zero interest in playing MMOs, and it's clear that they've been trying to push further into that space as opposed to shipping high-quality single-player games.
    • redxdev 6y ago
      The team that works on the mainline Elder Scrolls games hasn't so much as touched MMO or GAAS games - they've been working on Starfield which we know next to nothing about, but there's been no indication it's an online game. Even before that they made Fallout 4 which was a traditional singleplayer game. ESO is by ZeniMax Online Studios and FO76 is by a separate studio inside Bethesda Game Studios. Nothing to do with the team that works on mainline TES and FO games.
• greenduck 6y ago
  All of these consolidations of power are nuts. Feels like we need another round of trust busting in the next 10/20 years to help introduce real competition back into the markets.
  • holidayacct 6y ago
    What makes you believe this is a consolidation of power? Some of these companies may not be able to survive a long term recession.
  • Cthulhu_ 6y ago
    For now I think we'll wait and see; while the big companies slowly poison the well with microtransactions and live services, ruining games to push for sales, the indie market is massive, turning single developers pottering around in their proverbial basements into millionaires and spawning franchises left and right. I mean Minecraft started off like that. Terraria is following behind it. Among Us, a $4 game on Steam released in 2018, suddenly became a meme and huge out of nowhere. Fall Guys, made by a small studio that mainly did web, Flash, Facebook and mobile games for most of their existence, came out of left field and created the top game of last month, which (if played right) is an instant brand because of their simple yet infinitely customizable cute characters. There is still real competition because the big publishers cannot stop the small developers.
    • ketzo 6y ago
      I think the real worry would be Steam (Valve) being acquired. Without such a ubiquitous and relatively open platform for distribution, indie devs would have a much harder time making any money.
      • zaptrem 6y ago
        Considering their flat structure and Gabe Newell’s aversion to outside control/anything that might compromise his team’s vision, I don’t think Valve will be on the table for many years.
  • 6y ago
• Trasmatta 6y ago
  One weird thing is that Deathloop and Ghostwrite are timed exclusives on PS5. I'm assuming that'll still happen because of contracts, but I wonder if there will never be another Bethesda game on PlayStation afterwards.
• stockerta 6y ago
  Damn, I really wanted to play Skyrim on the PS6. At least GTAV will be on it.
• sandworm101 6y ago
  I was looking at my list of favorite games when I realized that all my favorite games are indi, except for Fallout/Elder scrolls. KSP, Subnautica, factorio, minecraft, papers please, FTL, EVE, x-plane, city skylines ... they all at least started as indi titles. Then I look at fallout and oblivion, the only non-indi games I've really enjoyed in the last 10+ years. There is something difference about them. So when I see microsoft buying Bethesda, I worry.
  • swebs 6y ago
    Coincidentally, they're all games that work very well on Linux.
    • sandworm101 6y ago
      True. And another reason to worry. Microsoft at large may be less linux-hating than it once wase, but Microsoft games have never been linux-friendly and show no substantial moves in that direction of late.
• Thaxll 6y ago
  So the ps5 will never see a single Bethesda game? It's huge.
  • pier25 6y ago
    Also iD, and Arkane?
• gregjw 6y ago
  The year is 2040. Gigaconglomerates Tencent, Activision Blizzard Ubisoft (ABU), Microsoft and Apple gatekeep the entire gaming industry. Rebel guerilla groups of small publishers and indie developers rise up to take control of their encampments.
  • rndgermandude 6y ago
    2040 huh? I'd have guessed Tencent (incl subsidies Facebook, Oracle, Microsoft, in order of acquisition) and Alphabet Activision share the market 75%/25%, with Apple still commanding a 30% sales tax in certain spaces.
  • throw_m239339 6y ago
    I mean this is the future described in Cyberpunk novels. United States of Coca Cola, Republic of Microsoft. Mega Corporations will replace states in an era of neocorporatism (AKA something else...), that's inevitable.
    • FridgeSeal 6y ago
      Every day we draw closer to the world described in Snowcrash and Neuromancer. Once we have cheap, ubiquitous VR, all we're missing is Kouriers, skateboards with those cool wheels and a cult based on a dead language.
  • redisman 6y ago
    I'm sure Disney will be there too. After they acquired Star Wars it's been a looming presence ready to swallow and regurgitate forever any entertainment properties.
    • mywittyname 6y ago
      NinDisney will be a thing. I'm astonished Disney hasn't yet acquired Nintendo.
      • manquer 6y ago
• disease 6y ago
  Is there any chance future Fallout/Elder Scrolls game become XBox exclusives that do not get ported to PC?
  • Ciantic 6y ago
    I doubt this. Microsoft has spent last years integrating PC gaming under XBOX brand too. E.g. XBOX Game Pass for PC, or adding controller support etc. They even promote so called "Xbox Play Anywhere", and tried to make it normal for the new XBOX so that you can buy a single game and play it on PC and XBOX. However the gaming studios haven't yet to my knowledge approved it fully so they want to sell you the game twice. After all the PC gaming benefits Microsoft too.
  • Tsiklon 6y ago
    I would hope this would not be the case - in the past few years Microsoft have gone out of their way to build bridges with the PC gaming community, bringing their traditional first party titles (Forza, Halo, etc) to PC. With Fallout and The Elder Scrolls’ history as PC only titles in their early iterations I would suspect this bridge building will continue
• LandR 6y ago
  Visiting that site without JS enabled just triggers a constant refresh loop!
• kar1181 6y ago
  Microsoft now own Doom, Quake, Wolf, etc IP. They own id software. 2020, I'm done.
  • r_police 6y ago
    Hey, at least we've got that RBG news last week so, not everything has been bad this year.
    • deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
• Firebrand 6y ago
  Bethesda Games are not going not be exclusive to Xbox -- Confirmed by Todd Howard: >Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen. We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone - regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one. https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-...
  • 83457 6y ago
    With Doom and Quake, it would be a shock if that were the case.
  • lifty 6y ago
    While statements like these are common when mergers/buyouts happen, the final decision down the line will not be his to make. Not saying that things will not happen as he states, but it shouldn't be seen as a certainty.
    • curiousllama 6y ago
      Xbox won't even mean the same thing then as it does now. Would a platform agnostic game only available on the Xbox online store count as "exclusive to xbox?" What if it required an Xbox Live/GamePass subscription for significant features - but not everything? Or they introduced super-skewed pricing ($100 for ES6 w/ no sales vs. included with GamePass)? My concern isn't that this won't be true (at the very least, they release everything for Xbox on PC anyway), it's that the platform will evolve so much that console lock-in won't matter, so the promise will elide the real concern.
    • TheKnack 6y ago
      When Facebook bought Oculus, Palmer Luckey said that a Facebook login would never be required to use Oculus products. The Oculus Quest 2 that comes out in October will require a Facebook login. https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-guarantee-promise-facebook-log-in/ https://www.roadtovr.com/oculus-guarantee-promise-facebook-l...
• antonyh 6y ago
  Bethesda has become formulaic, with the elements of gameplay virtually the same amongst titles. Same across the board really, not much genre-defying for quite a while. Outer Worlds, Fallout, and so on just differ by visuals and story, the general jist is all samey samey. No innovation. No just single series but across the estate. Nothings been as good as Fallout 3 & Skyrim, just repetitions and echoes of greatness. Is this a good purchase for MS? Maybe, if it's for tech, IP, and bringing talent on board. Hopefully they'll add some originality in game play elements, not just reskinning.
  • Trasmatta 6y ago
    Bethesda also includes id and Arkane. Arkane's games in particular are incredibly unique and well designed. There's still a lot of innovation happening under the Bethesda umbrella, even if Fallout and Elder Scrolls are stale.
  • Tsiklon 6y ago
    The Outer Worlds was by Obsidian (founded by former Black Isle developers), and was unrelated to Bethesda’s games. Now of course with this announcement Obsidian and Bethesda are sister studios.
    • antonyh 6y ago
      Really? I can hardly tell the difference in gameplay elements, so I thought them to be the same.
  • ben_e 6y ago
    Outer Worlds and Fallout come from two different developers.
    • antonyh 6y ago
      Perhaps staff crossed over between the two companies?
  • scollet 6y ago
    > Nothings been as good as Fallout 3 The irony is beyond my mortal understanding, but NV certainly flagships the IP today, behind maybe 2. Both different developers.
• gerardnll 6y ago
  We are going to a world of very big corporations dominating the industries. Market tendency is to concentrate capital. And I'm not sure this is a good thing.
  • sbarre 6y ago
    The upside being that in the game industry overall, it's never been easier to get started and to reach a wide audience. So while the inevitable trajectory of AAA gaming is consolidation, we are still seeing more and more indie developers break out and succeed at a larger scale, and there's no reason why that phenomenon shouldn't continue (or even grow).
  • aloisdg 6y ago
    _Laugh in cyperpunk_
• vaccinator 6y ago
  tiktok didn't work out and they had to do something with that money...
• paule89 6y ago
  Nooooooooo! Not Bethesda. Why? I still have bad memories regarding Rare and Lionhead. Although Rare redeemed itself with Sea of Thieves.
• eezurr 6y ago
  That's funny, I watched Bethesda's history documentary by noclip[1] last night. Bethesda studio is/was owned by ZeniMax[2], which in recent history purchased/hostile-takeovered a bunch of studios. ZeniMax's CEO is a lawyer, hence their long history of litigation tactics. And according to the article, Microsoft bought ZeniMax, so in theory it just bought a basket of gaming studios. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKn9yiLVlMM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKn9yiLVlMM [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethesda_Softworks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethesda_Softworks
• nottorp 6y ago
  Hmm, MS buying Obsidian was sad news, mainly because their titles became inaccessible on Mac/Linux. This, not so much. Fallout 3 was the last great Bethesda title. Well and New Vegas but that was Obsidian. Completely lost interest in them with Fallout 76. Edit: Oh wait, there's also Dishonored since Arkane is owned by ZeniMax. But that was never available on non-windows OSes so it's not much of a loss.
  • account42 6y ago
    > Hmm, MS buying Obsidian was sad news, mainly because their titles became inaccessible on Mac/Linux. Don't forget inXile. Still waiting on that Linux version of Wasteland 3.
    • nottorp 6y ago
      What, they bought inXile too? I'm waiting on the Mac version :)
• cwxm 6y ago
  It's interesting. Despite all the money that these studios have, my favorite games of the past few years have all been indie games (Rimworld, Factorio) or smaller studios (Paradox Plaza games such as EUIV, Stellaris). I understand that the majority of the industry's revenue is generated from these bigger studios, but acquiring first party developers doesn't make me as too concerned. What I'm concerned about is distribution is controlled by a few parties to a higher degree on desktop, like it is on mobile.
  • gspr 6y ago
    Paradox are an absolute gem. My god, these people owe me hundreds of hours of my life! And I'm not really into games.
• baq 6y ago
  waiting for announcement that facebook or netflix is buying valve for an undisclosed $30b
• shmerl 6y ago
  This is an attack on Vulkan, since Bethesda were very strongly pushing it. Guess what MS will tell them to do now. No doubt more Xbox and DX-only stuff. So it's a lock-in move and again something that should have been stopped by anti-trust, but of course, it's non existent these days.
• blondie9x 6y ago
  Is the entire world to be run by a few companies? Amazon Alibaba Microsoft Huawei Apple Tencent?
• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• bstar77 6y ago
  This just further confirms that my energy and money is going to the indie space. The level of enjoyment I get out of Factorio, Cuphead, Cogmind, Crusader Kings III, Curious Expedition 2, EXA Punks, Elite Dangerous, Kenshi, etc is so much greater than any AAA title I've touched in the past 5 years, yet these games are cheaper and most can run on a potato. I want to play games, not interactive movies.
  • zeroonetwothree 6y ago
    Paradox isn’t exactly an indie
    • masklinn 6y ago
      Yeah Paradox is a publisher so there are indie paradox games (e.g. cities skyline) but CKIII is from one of their internal studios so… not indie.
      • hundchenkatze 6y ago
        What does it mean to be an indie game developer? If you're releasing with the help of a publisher you're no longer independent.
        • masklinn 6y ago
          > If you're releasing with the help of a publisher you're no longer independent. Dear diary, I was today years old when I learned that Stardew Valley is not an indie game. > What does it mean to be an indie game developer? There's no hard-and-fast rule, but generally speaking it means the devs are not subordinate to the publisher. There are games for which the publisher contracts a studio, therefore the publisher decides and has the last word, these are not indies. There are others where the publisher provides funding and / or assistance (e.g. managing distribution channels), but doesn't take much or any active part in the development process. These are generally considered indie games. There are also games which are entirely self-published. These are also, obviously, indie games. Super Meat Boy, Shovel Knight, or The Witness are self-published indie games. Fez[0], Stardew, or Bastion are not (published respectively by Trapdoor, Chucklefish, and Warner). Hell, World of Goo ultimately self-published because they didn't manage to convince a publisher, would that have made them "not indie"? [0] literally one of the subjects of Indie Game: The Movie
• horsemessiah 6y ago
  Another example of capitalism tending towards monopoly.
• coding123 6y ago
  No mention of playstation says a lot...
• curiousllama 6y ago
  Microsoft is just trying to recreate console lock-in without having to subsidize hardware so much. (1) Microsoft is trying to expand their gaming division, but struggle with first-party games. This acquisition is an acknowledgement that MSFT needs Bethesda creatives. (2) Microsoft's big strategy right now is to build their Xbox ecosystem - they're pushing GamePass, Xcloud, etc. heavily, and trying to become Netflix for games. I'd guess they're basically buying Bethesda's key franchises to drive GamePass subs. They'll build them quick, lock you in with a $10/month sub, and let Bethesda slowly merge with the mothership. Short term, I'm excited because I want these new games! Long term, I fully expect Bethesda to get hollowed out.
  • MaximumMadness 6y ago
    What's your take on the potential long-term success of Game Pass?
    • curiousllama 6y ago
      Definitely a winning move. Netflix beat Blockbuster, TiVO, AND cable's on-demand video services with a worse content library and harder UI (initially - those boxes sucked) - because it was cheap, easy, and felt free. GamePass recreates that, at least for casual gamers. Plus, GamePass locks you in like consoles once did. That stickiness in recurring revenue is hugely valuable in itself, and because it has a network effect (this was basically the reason for the ongoing console wars). Combine that with cloud gaming, and the lock-in and UX just gets better. Their main barrier is good content. Thus the splashy buy.
    • bnycum 6y ago
      I've been using Game Pass for roughly 18 months. Really like it so far, though I've gotten it for "free" through MS Rewards. I'd probably have a different opinion if I actually paid for it monthly. The thing that is missing are the huge AAA games, but I honestly can't see most of those coming to Game Pass. They may come but like 1-2 years after initial release. Minus like the Forza and Halo series, most of the MS owned studios developing games are fairly shorter in length. Don't take that the wrong way though, even though they are shorter some are real gems. Just don't expect to play every game on there for 20+ hours or anything.
• T3RMINATED 6y ago
  WE SAW What Happened to Lionhead Studios!! Fable is no more.
• gigatexal 6y ago
  We'll never get a Doom game or any other games for that matter to be first-class supported titles on Linux then. It'll have to be Proton and Valve funding this and the community. I don't like this.
• duxup 6y ago
  I got the impression that Bethesda was going full cash grab from here on out ... I'm hopeful this opens a window to them stepping back from that.
• dkersten 6y ago
  This (that Bethesda are selling, not that Microsoft are the buyer) isn’t really a surprise. It seems that everything they’ve been doing for a few years now was to align themselves with a sale. This YouTube video predicting that’s what they were doing springs to mind: https://youtu.be/qJt_i2_vsSw https://youtu.be/qJt_i2_vsSw
• mrfusion 6y ago
  How will this affect VR?
• darknavi 6y ago
  We all know this was just because Todd Howard wanted Skyrim on MORE platforms. Next week: "Now you can play Skyrim on your Android phones via xCloud!"
• mastax 6y ago
  For context: $3B more than Dismay paid for Star Wars.
• acomjean 6y ago
  Microsoft bought Bungie in 2000. -(Halo was going to be for mac, and demoed by Steve Jobs who I guess made it look so great Bungie sold.) released a bunch of very successful games as xbox exclusives. 7 years later Bungie left microsoft as its own company again. (not sure how that happened. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungie
  • hundchenkatze 6y ago
    > 7 years later Bungie left microsoft as its own company again. (not sure how that happened. My guess is Microsoft got to keep what it really wanted, the Halo brand.
    • scollet 6y ago
      Practically sold the xbox by itself.
  • cwhiz 6y ago
    By 2007 Bungie had been fully absorbed into Microsoft. Microsoft retained the rights to Halo and held a minority stake in the "new" Bungie, LLC. I assume by 2007 any vesting periods were over and MS came to a mutual agreement with the Bungie shareholders to allow them to spin off.
  • Mobius01 6y ago
    Also note they Microsoft mismanaged the Halo property royally. The most recent failure the delay of Halo Infinite, that allegedly has been in development for over 4 years and will miss the launch of the new Xbox console due to poor quality. Microsoft also run Rare almost into irrelevancy after the acquisition. Not the greatest track record there.
    • ordinaryperson 6y ago
      Honestly Halo started to go off the rails at Halo 2 and that silly cliffhanger ending. And I'm still not sure I understand the plot of Halo 3. So I don't know if you can pin the blame for what happened to the Halo franchise on MSFT.
• runevault 6y ago
  Something I'm curious about here is if MS will put in the effort to fix the relationship with Carmack. Bethesda and he have been on bad terms since he left fully to go over to Occulus.
• anonymfus 6y ago
  "It's obvious that the current trend is creation of the one single worldwide company owning all the businesses and all the countries." Vladimir Lenin, 1915.
  • LudwigNagasena 6y ago
    The East India Company was founded in 1600 and had its own army before it was nationalized. So it is not like big companies is something that never happened before. And as we can see in the US, the state can easily control, cooperate with and even destroy companies, no matter how big they are.
• dustinmoris 6y ago
  > But the key point is we’re still Bethesda. Day one post acquisition? For sure! A month later? Of course. 6 months later? Yes, ok. 1 year later? Maybe? 3 years later? Never!
• javier10e6 6y ago
  From Betheasda news press release: "And, we have a long history of working with Microsoft. Our companies share many of the same basic principles. We believe in a culture that values passion, quality, collaboration, and innovation." Last week Microsoft was thanking Trump from giving them a chance to acquire TikTok. It did not go well.
• abvdasker 6y ago
  This acquisition has interesting timing given that they acquired Obsidian not long ago and we know Obsidian is developing a first person fantasy RPG (Bethesda's bread and butter). Have to imagine M$ execs will be thinking about further consolidation.
• screye 6y ago
  I genuinely think this is an amazing acquisition. Bethesda/Zenimax has arguably the longest lineup of critically acclaimed franchises in the video game world. Additionally, almost every franchise still feels fresh and has pulling power, unlike ones like Halo and Assassins creed which have slowly lost their thunder. Additionally, Bethesda had no idea what they were doing with their 2 biggest properties - Fallout and Elder scrolls. Hopefully with the MSFT acquisition, both will get some direction. For those that work at Obsidian and MSFT owned game studios, is the Work-life-balance still terrible like most video-game studios or is it more in line with the 'family frendly' pace at proper MSFT ? Am I too naive to think that this might be a good thing for the employees and their sanity.
  • dexwell 6y ago
    > Bethesda/Zenimax has arguably the longest lineup of critically acclaimed franchises in the video game world Let me introduce you to a little company called Nintendo.
    • screye 6y ago
      I am kicking myself right now. I knew I should have added 'cross-platform'. You're correct Nitendo certainly counts. Naughty dog would probably want to contend my claim too.
  • tyleo 6y ago
    I worked at Turn 10 (the Xbox studio which makes Forza) about a year and a half ago. Work life balance was amazing. The tech director of the studio made it a huge point that staff get adequate time off. He brought it up in almost every dev team meeting, "Let me know if you don't feel like you can take time off". He also made a huge point about having a sustainable team. I don't know that this is a characteristic of all Microsoft studios. Departments in Microsoft can almost be like little companies all of their own. It _did_ leave a positive impression on me though and I can see myself working at Microsoft again in the future. I left on good terms to see what it was like to work at startups.
    • 6y ago
• jimbob45 6y ago
  Heh they’re our biggest customer. I sure hope MS doesn’t force them to use MS software instead cue I’m in danger meme
• awill 6y ago
  It's unfortunate that the Xbox Series X and PS5 are so, so, so similar. It seems stupid to have to purchase 2 nearly identical boxes. It's not just the console. You then need multiple controllers for each, and possibly other accessories (Sony has a PS5 specific headset, camera, charger, will have a PS5 VR etc.) I've historically preferred PS exclusives (Uncharted, Spiderman, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn), and the cross platform stuff, was a little worse than Xbox in the PS3 days, and a little better in the PS4 days (at least prior to XoX). Speaking as a biased PS4 owner, I'm happy with current layout of PS exclusives and cross platform stuff. Each new announcement like this sucks. I like DOOM and Dishonored. I liked being able to get them on PS4 and expected to get them on PS5. I don't think this will make me get an Xbox, but it sucks I'll likely be missing out on these games. I suppose what Microsoft hopes is that people like me get a PS5 and a cheaper Xbox Series S with Gamepass. I love that the Nintendo Switch exists. It's completely different, and doesn't really compete with Playstation/Xbox. As a gamer, it makes sense to purchase a Nintendo Switch and one of either the Playstation/Xbox. I wish Xbox/Playstation differentiated somehow. I suppose Microsoft tried to do that with Kinect, but failed/gave up.
  • redisman 6y ago
    They're both basically a great value gaming PC at this point. With a handful of hardware-level optimizations making them cheap and powerful for the price.
  • seabrookmx 6y ago
    One really refreshing thing is that the Xbox Series S/X are compatible with Xbox One controllers.. so you won't have to buy a bunch of new controllers for it. That always drove me nuts. Controller design hasn't changed that much since the mid 2000's.. there's zero reason for breaking backwards compatibility other than to sell you more hardware.
  • alexc05 6y ago
    I've been a Playstation gamer since the PS2. I have multiple PS4s and a library of over 1000 games in my digital account. With that context laid out that I am a big-time PS user, looking at the XBOX game pass subscription model where you get the console for free is REALLY tempting. In every market I've looked at, there is a deal that works out to about $30 a month for two years. They give you the console, instant access to hundreds of really good games, day one access to all microsoft first-party games included in the price, many new release games from other publishers (for example EA ACCESS titles). Free monthly titles on PC. AND all of that is actually CHEAPER than buying the console with the two years of subscription. Plus the XBOX is going to have a number of new features related to second-screen-game-streaming that are also really exciting. I'm really torn here right now. I might move away from playstation for this next generation - the XBOX is looking like it is going to be a big deal this time round. OTOH - I really want to play the Miles Morales spider-man ... so there are arguments on both sides. To say nothing of the third option involving an Nvidia RTX3080... I honestly don't know what I'm going to do yet.
• ck425 6y ago
  Please please please tell me this doesn't mean ES6 will be an Xbox exclusive!
  • binarymax 6y ago
    Unfortunately, it probably does mean that you won't be playing ES6 on your PS5
  • patagurbon 6y ago
    It'll be on PC certainly, probably not on PS5...
• refracture 6y ago
  Great. Now that you have vast resources to work with start making a new Quake based on Quake 1's themes.
• MrWiffles 6y ago
  This seems like an attempt to address the "Playstation has better exclusives" argument. Still buying a PS5, not an Xbox Series X. I can (hopefully?) play all Microsoft exclusives on PC.
• tosh 6y ago
  Carmack on the acquisition: > Great! I think Microsoft has been a good parent company for gaming IPs, and they don’t have a grudge against me, so maybe I will be able to re engage with some of my old titles. https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1308069857913720832?s=20 https://twitter.com/ID_AA_Carmack/status/1308069857913720832...
  • ysleepy 6y ago
    Interesting, didn't Rage pioneer the on-demand texture streaming approach? It fits well with the DMA SSDs in the coming console generation. Wow, that's now a decade ago.
    • dogma1138 6y ago
      Texture streaming was a thing before Rage. ID tech implemented megatextures earlier also, Quake Wars heavily relied on that feature.
    • michannne 6y ago
      I believe it did, in addition to mega-textures in video games. What I am hoping for, and been hoping for a while, is for game engines to start integrating AI into workflows. There are some tools out there that do leverage machine learning to some extent, but what I would love to see are tools for instance that can take a video shot of an actor and then infer the bone structure a decent degree and transfer that animation into the model. Or a tool that allows style transfer of an image onto a 3D model so we can have realistically dynamic brush tools for environments, also integrating Face generation GANs onto models to reduce sculpting effort. Not to mention tools that can dynamically and infinitely scale 3D models based on material information. I know some tools exist that can do some of these things at an okay degree, but it can be taken even further. Truly the power of AI in video game tooling has yet to be unlocked, but I believe video games as a medium is in the position of being able to push for practical applications of new and exciting research, second only to CGI films. It's exciting what's in store for the future and I'm sure Carmack can appreciate the kind of breakthroughs that Microsoft would be able to foster
  • flipgimble 6y ago
• PHGamer 6y ago
  smart move by microsoft. sony has been acquiring IP. microsofts failure to get exclusives is whats hurting their xbox.
• Aaronstotle 6y ago
  Here's hoping Microsoft can force Bethesda to make a good Fallout game again
• dschuetz 6y ago
  Nvidia buys ARM, Microsoft buys Zenimax and eats Bethesda. Next thing: Tesla buys Intel.
• aero-glide 6y ago
  Great, yet another acquisition. So eventually everything will become one company or what? I like free markets, at least the idea of competition. I hate conglomerates. Am I contradicting myself?
  • ehnto 6y ago
    That depends on your definition of free market, but I think everyone likes the golden-years of a free market. The long tail of unhindered capitalism has some rough edges, we have some laws to help but they're not much use if no-one uses them.
• KingOfCoders 6y ago
  Good move, Sony had up to now more exclusive titles for their Playstation lines. Many people wrote off the new XBox because there were not enough exclusive titles. Now perhaps next Doom etc. will be time limited exclusive for the Xbox.
• afpx 6y ago
  If they make a Minecraft / Skyrim hybrid, I'm in.
  • ck425 6y ago
    Please no. Isn't that what they tried when they made Fallout 4 and it's easily the worst of the modern fallouts.
• ram_rattle 6y ago
  This is honestly better acquisition than tiktok!
• munificent 6y ago
  Every time I see these posts, I think of Demolition Man: > Now all restaurants are Taco Bell. Taco Bell was the only restaurant to survive the franchise wars. Out of all the dystopian sci-fi movies, who would have thought Demolition Man would have it right?
  • genpfault 6y ago
    > Now all restaurants are Taco Bell Or was it Pizza Hut?[1] [1]: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106697/alternateversions https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106697/alternateversions
    • defterGoose 6y ago
      Or was it a combination pizza hut and taco bell? https://youtu.be/EQ8ViYIeH04 https://youtu.be/EQ8ViYIeH04
• julius_set 6y ago
  People are forgetting that the original Zenimax Studios is not exactly the most pro-gaming group of shareholders. Their original motivations were to increase shareholder value (I imagine that Fallout 76 decision was a factor among this). I think Microsoft’s gaming vision aligns well with Bethesda’s and they probably have a better vision compared to Zenimax board of directors.
• paul7986 6y ago
  Cool and if Im not mistaken Zenimax Online's headquarters is down the street from me in Hunt Valley, MD. Nice area with nice housing that isn't crazy expensive, especially right on the border of MD/PA. Any other Hacker Newers live close to there too?
• vwat 6y ago
  So this is it! Bethesda is officially dead. ESO was the early prognosis and 76 was the death rattle. This is the funeral. Morrowind was a masterpiece of a game. Oblivion was amazing. Skyrim was quite special and carried the genre forward but left behind important bits from morrowind. The job of making the spiritual successor to oblivion and morrowind is now officially open to anyone because Bethesda will never do it.
• boltefnovor 6y ago
  The other end of this consolidation is that there is an uncountable firehose of great indie games released all the time.
• zacharycohn 6y ago
  I did the math - that is approximately 293,164 dump trucks full of $100 bills.
• burtonator 6y ago
  Serious question... have we just given up on modern anti-trust? We're going to have the US as one large corporation now? No competition?
  • skohan 6y ago
    I believe it was in the 80's when they changed the interpretation of monopoly to only be illegal if it can be proven that the consumer suffers. So in a way, yes we have given up.
• rixrax 6y ago
  Does this mean that future versiona of Fallout will showcase Pip-Boys runnig Microsoft Windows?
• paulpan 6y ago
  Having just watched Netflix vs. the World documentary (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8407418/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8407418/) last week, this acquisition seems to be inevitable as game streaming is taking off and will eventually become the defacto means of playing video games. Microsoft's endgame is to increase the subscribers to its GamePass subscription so akin to Netflix's insatiable appetite for video content, Microsoft's will be for video games. But since IP development for games is expensive, time-consuming and hard to break into, it's arguably easier to acquire game studios entirely. The impact is so wide-ranging: what becomes of Google Stadia and Nvidia GeForce Now? Same goes for Sony and Nintendo. The most interesting one could be Apple, who clearly does not want game streaming to be the norm.
  • likeclockwork 6y ago
    I don't see how both game streaming and high resolution/high refresh rate displays can both be the future. The bandwidth requirements will keep going up and high resolution particle effects can create terrible compression artifacts. Local processing power is also not standing still in time, the capability a given price purchases is increasing year upon year. Do you imagine a future where people have limitless bandwidth, with low latency, and only use incapable thin clients?
    • paulpan 6y ago
      Agreed that bandwidth and latency remains a challenge for most people today, especially for non-urban dwellers. For streaming to be the norm, there has to be a fundamental change in how ISPs treat internet connectivity and how the government regulates it. Maybe I'm overly optimistic in how things will play on in this front - in addition to newer technologies like SpaceX's Starlink platform. The main point is that Microsoft is pivoting its gaming approach to the "gaming-as-a-service" and selling subscriptions, rather than the previous one of selling hardware and individual games. The digital-only editions of both the upcoming new Xbox and Playstation underscore this - plus you can even buy a subscription bundled with a console. Buying up studios help them achieve this vision.
    • bytematic 6y ago
• mirko22 6y ago
  Can we now have Obsidian and inXile work on Fallout?
• didip 6y ago
  Now both Obsidian and Bethesda are under the same roof again. Interesting turn of events.
• joeloya 6y ago
  This acquisition is good news for investors after publicly losing to Oracle on the TikTok deal.
  • skohan 6y ago
    For investors maybe, but probably not for consumers. It seems likely this will result in people having less choice about how and where they can play the games they enjoy. I find it troubling that good news for the former group seems to trump bad news for the latter.
• FloatArtifact 6y ago
  Bethesda was already trending this way however this has deep implications. Ultimately I think it's going to slowly kill the core of the modding community as modding is forced into the platform and new users are displace the modding culture. The modding will no longer be able to truly edit the engine itself through some reverse engineering and be forced to utilize the APl/scripting framework. Third-party tools will be locked out. Obviously this has happened already on the console platform. There's still the PC platform but that could be locked down further as well. Think about the time and fostered talent that it took to make some of the communities amazing tools. For example script extenders for elder scrolls series. As mods are now centralized in official 'the store' the community grow around which will never allow mods like the script extender for developers to make advanced innovative mods. Even if other modding communities like the Nexus allow for that It's going to continue to fragment the community and the talent which is foster within the community. Then you throw paid mods into the picture... Thus begins the death of the open source pillar in modding.
  • CivBase 6y ago
    I'm not sure where this came from. Are you saying that Microsoft is opposed to modding?
    • ranbumo 6y ago
      You can't mod anything that's on gamepads due to the encrypted filestorage it uses. At least that was the case when I checked last year.
      • doikor 6y ago
        We have mods for Skyrim even on consoles. They can be modded on gamepass just fine if the developer decides to support it.
• birdyrooster 6y ago
  Best thing to ever happen to Bethesda Softworks and id. Zenimax is a mess of a parent company and has underinvested in id and hasn’t gotten beyond letting Todd Howard keep going further and further off target from what people want.
• johnwayne117 6y ago
  More games to gamepass, I see it as an absolute win...
• foxdev 6y ago
  Today I learned: Microsoft is buying Bethesda Bethesda is owned by a company called ZeniMax Media It's actually Bethesda Softworks Bethesda is a place in Maryland
• enahs-sf 6y ago
  I for one look forward to playing/streaming the next fallout over a cold beer and microsoft teams.
• skee0083 6y ago
  Elder scrolls 6 literally when?
• chx 6y ago
  Where's the money? Wherever I look I can only find revenue for the gaming industry but I can't find any profit forecasts. Example: https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/02/superdata-games-hit-120-1-billion-in-2019-with-fortnite-topping-1-8-billion/ https://venturebeat.com/2020/01/02/superdata-games-hit-120-1... or https://variety.com/2019/gaming/news/video-games-300-billion-industry-2025-report-1203202672/ https://variety.com/2019/gaming/news/video-games-300-billion... Does anyone have better data?
• rmrfrmrf 6y ago
  is no one else concerned that microsoft has been acquiring literally everything?
• jeffrufino 6y ago
  First EA Games then this, BEST VALUE in gaming hands down for Game Pass!
• srg0 6y ago
  Good news: it is not Facebook. I'd rather use a MS account rather than FB account to play games. And as a fan of the acquired franchises, I'm confident about their future. MS has a good track record of handling game franchises.
• rdtwo 6y ago
  What was the last good game Bethesda made? I think they burned out BioWare style.