Microsoft Purchases Bethesda: A Perfect Expansion
Software and hardware giant Microsoft purchased Bethesda Studios for 7.5 billion dollars.
Sep 26, 2020
Bethesda Softworks has been a giant in the video game industry since 1986, releasing fantasy titles such as the Fallout franchise, a series in which the player has to survive a post-nuclear apocalypse, along with the Doom series, where the player battles demons in Hell. Bethesda’s most popular series is the The Elder Scrolls, with the most significant entry being Skyrim, selling 20 million copies. Bethesda has become a staple and well-loved company over the past 34 years, causing Microsoft to become interested in purchasing the studio once they were offered the chance.
Best known for creating Windows OS and the Xbox hardware, Microsoft has purchased Bethesda Softworks and its parent company, ZeniMax Media, for 7.5 billion dollars. With the purchase of Bethesda, Microsoft now owns 23 game studios. “Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world,” said Xbox head Phil Spencer.
Bethesda’s past titles will soon launch on the Xbox Game Pass, a subscription service allowing users to download hundreds of games. Xbox Game Pass has been slowly growing with an explosion in subscriptions when Xbox lowered the price significantly to one dollar, well worth the price. Fans of Microsoft have praised the deal as allowing Bethesda to create and optimize their titles with better technology and service.
“I believe the Bethesda purchase will be a new stepping stone in the world of gaming. Under Microsoft, Bethesda will have the unlimited resources to experiment with their games and be able to create the next best games,” sophomore Parker Grossman said.
The purchase announcement came days before the pre-orders of Microsoft’s new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles went live. With the purchase of Bethesda, Microsoft will be able to optimize Bethesda’s new titles and perfect them on Microsoft’s latest consoles. The Xbox Series X can perform four thousand pixels at 60 frames per second and up to 120 frames per second. In comparison, the disc-less Xbox Series S can perform at 1,440 pixels at 120 frames per second. The price difference astounded fans, as the Series X is five hundred dollars, while the Series S is only three hundred dollars. The new consoles will be up to compete against PlayStation’s five hundred dollars “PlayStation 5” and four hundred dollar disc-less “PlayStation 5” Digital Edition.
“I want to pre-order the Series S as it will receive more exclusives courtesy of the Bethesda purchase, and is the best budget high performing console out,” sophomore Carlos Rocha said.
On the other hand, some fans, notably those supporting PlayStation, have bashed the deal as a hypocritical purchase. They claim Phil Spencer buried his statement of exclusive games “countering what gaming is about.” Phil Spencer explained he wanted Xbox and PlayStation to drop exclusives and allow gamers on both spectrums the ability to come together. Still, the purchase of Bethesda means Xbox and PlayStation will become more divided, more console exclusive games will go to Xbox, separating the fanbase even more. PlayStation itself has not responded to the purchase.
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