Microsoft To Buy Bethesda Studios For $7.5 Billion

[Beskamir]

So now both Bethesda and Obsidian are owned by the same company. That'll be interesting.

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, Fatih19 said:

Uh no? EA is a publicly traded company, they're their own thing. You're way-off here IMO.

Something is way off.  My info may be out of date.  At the time EA was trying to become publicly traded but hadn’t yet. Fallout76 had just come out. Did they at one point own Bethesda?  Also possible the thing was wrong or it was right but I heard it wrong.

[Warin]

15 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Something is way off.  My info may be out of date.  At the time EA was trying to become publicly traded but hadn’t yet. Fallout76 had just come out. Did they at one point own Bethesda?  Also possible the thing was wrong or it was right but I heard it wrong.

EA has never owned Bethesda.  EA and Bethesda were involved in a lawsuit way back in the 80s over a football game, but that's it.

[Akolyte]

14 hours ago, cj09beira said:

i agree it might help on that side, but it will likely mean they will be locked behind the windows store

I don't think MS buying Zenimax will mean their games are behind the Windows Store.  

 

Microsoft has been trying to open themselves up if anything.  I think what's going on is they are wanting to create a really big and solid game service. 

 

I think you'll see their games on Steam, but Microsoft might give you much better deals on their own store (like $5 a month for all games vs $70 a game on Steam), and try and pull people toward a game service subscription - which would be Xbox Live PC Cloud or something.  They've got the infrastructure and all of the resources for it. 

 

Microsoft has made a lot of mistakes in the past, they've had a more open culture for some time.  I think they'll try and convince people to move with good irresistible incentives and not exclusivity.  Bad for business as well. 

 

17 minutes ago, Beskamir said:

So now both Bethesda and Obsidian are owned by the same company. That'll be interesting.

 

I think Microsoft probably saw what Obsidian was doing, and wanted some more talent for their games.  Obsidian and Bethesda have a history, perhaps not an ideal one.  No doubt Microsoft managers can see that their resources skills align quite closely though as they've worked on similar games. 

 

The interesting thing will be if TESVI is even a thing anymore.  Microsoft may want to pull a lot of resources from Bethesda and put them with Obsidian to work on their games, at least for now.  My guess is that TESVI isn't cancelled, it's just further delayed. 

 

It's also totally possible Microsoft's only intention is just to take up an opportunity to buy a company that has been having it rough the last couple of years and put some new management in there and see and make some good, profitable games to build up their platform and reputation in the game industry. 

[Brooksie359]

14 hours ago, cj09beira said:

i agree it might help on that side, but it will likely mean they will be locked behind the windows store

I disagree with that. Microsoft has been releasing some of their games on steam and has said they plan to do so more in the future. I think they know they will make more money if they allow you to buy on either platform. 

[Bombastinator]

10 minutes ago, Warin said:

EA has never owned Bethesda.  EA and Bethesda were involved in a lawsuit way back in the 80s over a football game, but that's it.

Hmm.  How did I get that EA owned Bethesda?  Maybe there was a sub company like Black Isle or sometthing they both owned at different times.  I don’t know.  The impression I got was that the problems with fallout76 were the makings of paper pushers who had nothing to do with games which is why they sucked so hard.  This is the problem with YouTube.  It’s not vetted.  One thing I remember is a claim that there was more than one company called Bethesda, and more than one company called ea. There was a game dev and there was a corporate and they were separate.  There’s Bethesda soft works, and Bethesda something else.

[Warin]

Just now, Bombastinator said:

Hmm.  How did I get that EA owned Bethesda?  Maybe there was a sub company like Black Isle or sometthing they both owned at different times.  I don’t know.  The impression I got was that the problems with fallout76 were the makings of paper pushers who had nothing to do with games which is why they sucked so hard.  This is the problem with YouTube.  It’s not vetted.

Indeed. People lie on the internet all the time.  Usually particularly juicy things to get you to click on them.  As I said when 76 came out (And I actually like 76 a fair bit):

what letter does bug start with? 

what letter does Bethesda start with?

Do you think that is a coincidence?

 

I love all the people complaining about 76 and using current Skyrim as an example of how solid Bethesda games are, completely forgetting what a disaster Skyrim was in its first year. 

[Bombastinator]

3 minutes ago, Warin said:

Indeed. People lie on the internet all the time.  Usually particularly juicy things to get you to click on them.  As I said when 76 came out (And I actually like 76 a fair bit):

what letter does bug start with? 

what letter does Bethesda start with?

Do you think that is a coincidence?

 

I love all the people complaining about 76 and using current Skyrim as an example of how solid Bethesda games are, completely forgetting what a disaster Skyrim was in its first year. 

Do I think that is a coincidence?  Yes.  I absolutely do without reservation.  
 

I liked fallout4 a whole lot, but I wouldn’t buy it for the first year. I didn’t buy fallout76 at all.  Initials were awful but instead of getting better they got worse.  It’s actually got a worse rep than some malware games. 

[Warin]

6 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Do I think that is a coincidence?  Yes.  I absolutely do without reservation.  
 

I liked fallout4 a whole lot, but I wouldn’t buy it for the first year. I didn’t buy fallout76 at all.  Initials were awful but instead of getting better they got worse.  It’s actually got a worse rep than some malware games. 

That rep is about 95% underserved.  The best way to tell if someone has played the game is their opinion of it.  I hear a lot of things that an hour of playing the game would show you are blatantly untrue.

 

As for the B thing, it is called a joke, playing on the idea that everything Bethesda has ever released has been awfully buggy at release.  You know, sarcasm? 

[Bombastinator]

1 minute ago, Warin said:

That rep is about 95% underserved.  The best way to tell if someone has played the game is their opinion of it.  I hear a lot of things that an hour of playing the game would show you are blatantly untrue.

 

As for the B thing, it is called a joke, playing on the idea that everything Bethesda has ever released has been awfully buggy at release.  You know, sarcasm? 

Re: rep.

Ive heard a lot of complaints from people that bought it too.  It does make sense that anyone still playing it would like it though. 
 

re: sarcasm

the problem with that instance is while a joke there’s this gigantic problem with conspiracy theory in society today.  Agreeing would qualify as potentially buying in.  Sarcasm translates poorly in prose. 
The rule with Bethesda games is their betas are alphas and their releases are betas.  Let others work out the bugs.  I’ve even extended that to all rpgs.  I only recently started Witcher III. Broke lvl18 today which puts me maybe half way through I think given I’m seeing lvl 32 rated quests.  I did that with fallout76 but news got worse, not better like it usually does. 

[Delicieuxz]

1 hour ago, gabrielcarvfer said:

Yup. Wouldn't surprise me if Avowed became part of Elder Scrolls and next InXile Wasteland became turn-based Fallout.

Avowed is already based in the Pillars of Eternity world of Eora, which has its own lore that isn't like Elder Scrolls', and it presents much darker themes than Elder Scrolls. I don't think they'd change something as fundamental as the world which shapes all the writing to make it an Elder Scrolls game. That would also be a slap in the face to Obsidian's own creation.

 

Since Bethesda haven't even started work on ES6, and won't really until Starfield is released, I think Microsoft would be satisfied with Avowed, as Obsidian has intended it, being their fantasy RPG (though Elder Scrolls hasn't been an RPG series since Morrowind) while Bethesda put-out their sci-fi Starfield. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft then has both Bethesda and Obsidian work on Elder Scrolls 6 together. Bethesda Game Studios production values just don't seem to me to be at the level I would expect Microsoft would want for one of their games.

 

 

Fallout was already a turn-based series before it was bought by ZeniMax, so Wasteland doesn't need to be a TB Fallout - Fallout could be its own TB Fallout, just like Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics.

 

Interplay created Wasteland under a publishing deal with EA, which resulted in EA owning the Wasteland brand. When Interplay wanted to create a sequel to Wasteland, EA didn't let them have the IP. So, Interplay created Fallout to be Wasteland's spiritual successor.

 

1 hour ago, Bombastinator said:

Hmm.  How did I get that EA owned Bethesda?  Maybe there was a sub company like Black Isle or sometthing they both owned at different times.  I don’t know.  The impression I got was that the problems with fallout76 were the makings of paper pushers who had nothing to do with games which is why they sucked so hard.  This is the problem with YouTube.  It’s not vetted.  One thing I remember is a claim that there was more than one company called Bethesda, and more than one company called ea. There was a game dev and there was a corporate and they were separate.  There’s Bethesda soft works, and Bethesda something else.

Black Isle was never owned by either EA or Bethesda. Black Isle was a subsidiary of Interplay, and was formed by many of the people at Interplay who made Fallout. None of the creators of Fallout had any involvement in Bethesda's Fallout 3, 4, and '76. 

 

Bethesda licenses the Fallout IP from Interplay in 2004, and then bought the IP in 2007.

 

Bethesda Game Studios is the game development studio which has made the Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3, 4, and '76.

 

Bethesda Softworks is the publishing arm of ZeniMax, which releases all the games made by studios ZeniMax owns. So, DOOM, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, are all published by Bethesda Softworks.

 

 

If the video you watched talked about EA, Black Isle, Bethesda, and Fallout, then it was probably a retrospective which explained that the people at Interplay who made Fallout formed Black Isle Studios, a subsidiary of Interplay, and wanted to make a Wasteland sequel but couldn't because EA owned the rights to the series and wouldn't let them have it. So, they made Fallout as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, and then Bethesda first licensed and then bought the Fallout IP from Interplay.

[Bombastinator]

3 minutes ago, Delicieuxz said:

Avowed is already based in the Pillars of Eternity world of Eora, which has its own lore that isn't like Elder Scrolls', and it presents much darker themes than Elder Scrolls. I don't think they'd change something as fundamental as the world which shapes all the writing to make it an Elder Scrolls game. That would also be a slap in the face to Obsidian's own creation.

 

Since Bethesda haven't even started work on ES6, and won't really until Starfield is released, I think Microsoft would be satisfied with Avowed, as Obsidian has intended it, being their fantasy RPG (though Elder Scrolls hasn't been an RPG series since Morrowind) while Bethesda put-out their sci-fi Starfield. I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft then has both Bethesda and Obsidian work on Elder Scrolls 6 together. Bethesda Game Studios production values just don't seem to me to be at the level I would expect Microsoft would want for one of their games.

 

 

Fallout was already a turn-based series before it was bought by ZeniMax, so Wasteland doesn't need to be a TB Fallout - Fallout could be its own TB Fallout, just like Fallout 1, 2, and Tactics.

 

Interplay created Wasteland under a publishing deal with EA, which resulted in EA owning the Wasteland brand. When Interplay wanted to create a sequel to Wasteland, EA didn't let them have the IP. So, Interplay created Fallout to be Wasteland's spiritual successor.

 

Black Isle was never owned by either EA or Bethesda. Black Isle was a subsidiary of Interplay, and was formed by many of the people at Interplay who made Fallout. None of the creators of Fallout had any involvement in Bethesda's Fallout 3, 4, and '76. 

 

Bethesda licenses the Fallout IP from Interplay in 2004, and then bought the IP in 2007.

 

Bethesda Game Studios is the game development studio which has made the Elder Scrolls games and Fallout 3, 4, and '76.

 

Bethesda Softworks is the publishing arm of ZeniMax, which releases all the games made by studios ZeniMax owns. So, DOOM, Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Elder Scrolls, Fallout, are all published by Bethesda Softworks.

 

 

If the video you watched talked about EA, Black Isle, Bethesda, and Fallout, then it was probably a retrospective which explained that the people at Interplay who made Fallout formed Black Isle Studios, a subsidiary of Interplay, and wanted to make a Wasteland sequel but couldn't because EA owned the rights to the series and wouldn't let them have it. So, they made Fallout as a spiritual successor to Wasteland, and then Bethesda first licensed and then bought the Fallout IP from Interplay.

It was a “history of” kind of thing which focused on corporate and legal aspects.  It talked about which individual person or persons formed what company and why, and what happened to them. There was some sort of EA tie in.  Its aim seemed to be comparing game companies to movie companies as effectively creative enterprises and the pitfalls of attempting to view and control them as pure products. Apparently what can turn a good movie to garbage is sometimes very similar to what can turn a good game to garbage.  The example of a good game turned to garbage was fallout76

[AldiPrayogi]

9 hours ago, cj09beira said:

https://www.overclock3d.net/news/software/xbox_series_x_s_have_led_to_our_largest_engine_overhaul_since_oblivion_-_claims_todd_howard/1

 

 

it seems that after a decade or more bethesda is finally making actual changes to their horrible ass engine (why not just use id tech?)

I do hope Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6 are great man please Todd please I beg of you

[suicidalfranco]

now remove todd and maybe, just maybe, things may improve 

[Stahlmann]

6 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I thought it was EA that caused a lot of the Bethesda problems.  The way I heard it fallout76 was such a POS primarily because of requirements by the parent company to add a lot of crap Bethesda didn’t want to add.   Bethesda did have some homegrown crap though.  Like the tendency to release games with annoying bugs.   Bethesda was the company that got me to never buy a game unless it was already out for a year. 

Yeah the bugs were always a problem. They fully rely on the modding community to fix the bugs of Fallout 4 and Skyrim. Even the Skyrim Special Edition had all the known bugs that were present in the original Skyrim. But the moddability is also the reason why this game is still a lot of fun to play through over and over again.

[RejZoR]

We've heard about ARM and NVIDIA for a while. This one on the other hand hit us out of nowhere. I wonder how this will reflect on quality of future Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games. This also hit me that Microsoft will now own Quake and Doom fanchises. MIND BLOWN

[Fatih19]

42 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

I wonder how this will reflect on quality of future Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games.

It's in Microsoft's best interest to clean house and pressure Bethesda to do a good job (unlike FO76) because they're likely going to be used as incentive for people to buy Gamepass.

[Lord Vile]

57 minutes ago, RejZoR said:

We've heard about ARM and NVIDIA for a while. This one on the other hand hit us out of nowhere. I wonder how this will reflect on quality of future Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games. This also hit me that Microsoft will now own Quake and Doom fanchises. MIND BLOWN

probably because everyone knew ARM was for sale

[S w a t s o n]

Here's how I hope this goes:

Sony: We'll make Demon's Souls + Others multi plat if you give us elder scrolls and starfield and doom

Microsoft: OK

It wont go like that so, enjoy bickering over exclusives again.

[Mark Kaine]

doesn't microsoft usually buy companies to let them "die"...?

 

I think minecraft is the only one where that wasn't the case...

 

 

note: I don't care about bethesda, I'm just saying I don't think this is "good news" if you actually care about them.

[Fatih19]

5 minutes ago, Mark Kaine said:

doesn't microsoft usually buy companies to let them "die"...?

 

I think minecraft is the only one where that wasn't the case...

 

 

note: I don't care about bethesda, I'm just saying I don't think this is "good news" if you actually care about them.

Can you give some examples? Because aren't Linkedin and Github still going strong?

[Mark Kaine]

5 minutes ago, Fatih19 said:

Can you give some examples? Because aren't Linkedin and Github still going strong?

I meant game studios  should have been more precise.

 

Rare is one, but basically outside of Halo, Gears and Forza every other studio they bought doesn't seem to be producing much at all. Sure they'll be always working on something but actual game output from Microsoft is abysmal...

 

But I was really thinking of Rare mostly, it's basically a meme now how they let them basically sit to die .

[Kawaii Koneko]

 So, I see Dishonored 2 is set to leave Game Pass by the 30th. Since the deal has gone through and MS is officially the owner of ZeniMax and in turn Bethesda, will Dishonored 2 no longer be leaving? They made a comment about a bunch of new games coming to Game Pass now. As with all games owned by MS, one would think these games, including Dishonored 2, will be permanent fixtures of Game Pass going forward.

 

I really hope so because I'm rushing to finish the game and get all the achievements by the 30th lol.

 

Anyway, this is just such a big deal. MS now has control over some of the biggest names in the industry and you can bet the games will be exclusive in the future. MS already said games currently in development that have been promised to be multiplatform will be multiplatform but beyond that, they will be XBox and PC exclusive. So franchises like Doom, Wolfenstein, Fallout, and even Elder Scrolls will be XBox and PC exclusive. 

 

Talk about a power player move.

 

 

And btw, Obsidian can now make another Fallout game. MS just has to say the word.

 

22 hours ago, Commodus said:

It's a huge move, if not so great for PlayStation and Switch owners. My question: is this a major coup, or is Microsoft pulling another Nokia and buying a key company when it's too late to save the platform?

I would say it really isn't comparable to that situation. While the XBox really trailed the PS4 this generation, it is nowhere on death's door like Windows Phone or Nokia for that matter. XBox is still a very profitable ecosystem for MS and there is still a substantial fanbase. 

 

Plus, I think even without the deal, between the HUGE Game Pass library, the incredible specs of the Series X, the great value proposition of the Series S, and their financing options for getting a Series S and Series X for $25 and $35 a month respectively with Game Pass Ultimate included, they were already on the road to a pretty good market position this generation, even if they still trailed the PS5. I think they were going to make back a lot of market share as it is.

 

This is just icing on the cake.

 

22 hours ago, jasonvp said:

It'll be interesting to see how this affects the folks at Id.  Historically, they've very openly thumbed their noses at Microsoft's DirectX.  Carmack, back before most of you were even aware of the Internet, said something along the lines of, "DirectX being the worst API I've ever seen."  And while Carmack isn't driving Id any longer, that attitude has remained there.  See: Doom and Vulkan.

 

If MS is smart, they'll "ignore" Id and let them do their thing with whatever API they want to.  Because they consistently produce quality, even with Bethesda's yoke on them.

I have a feeling MS is going to let the studios do their thing, at least the ones who are doing the right thing. As in Id clearly knows what they are doing so I imagine MS will be hands off with them. But someone like Bethesda I can see MS getting involved and making some much needed changes, like forcing them to switch to a better engine and change some of the crappy customer relation nightmare behavior they have been up to. MS has been very open lately and has very much been trying to portray a very PR positive image. They don't want Bethesda to bring them down.

 

22 hours ago, MoozOfDoomz said:

They better whip todd into shape.

I'm wondering if it is past that point for Todd. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up resigning in the upcoming months due to pressure from MS. Or maybe they will just outright fire him to really send a message.

 

 

[rushboarduk]

It will, certainly, be interesting to see how their upcoming games, DEATHLOOP and Ghostwire: Tokyo, are impacted in the coming months.

 

In particular, Ghostwire was intended to be for PC, and PlayStation-exclusive on console.  With the acquisition, however, that may not be the case anymore.

[Fatih19]

18 minutes ago, Kawaii Koneko said:

 I'm wondering if it is past that point for Todd. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up resigning in the upcoming months due to pressure from MS. Or maybe they will just outright fire him to really send a message.

People already wished for Microsoft to fire Todd and Hines. Todd resigning or being fired would be epic albeit awkward considering this blog post he write regarding the deal, claiming the guys at Xbox to be a long friend of him.

https://bethesda.net/en/article/4IwKWIj174Cb2QNTTtBAEb/todd-howard-on-joining-xbox

 

Regarding Xbox cleaning up Bethesda Game Studios, I think there is some fundamental issue about their company culture that needs to be addressed. Video below dug through how Bethesda Games Studios develop their games and why it could explain their recent decline.