Microsoft buys Zenimax for $7.5B | Biggest purchase of the year?

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(Edited)

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After the price and release date announcements for the both the new Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, the recent announcement of Nvidia purchasing ARM, another unexpected news has hit the customers.

ZeniMax Media with their subsidiaries such as Bethesda, id Software, Arkane and others was purchased by Microsoft for $7.5 billion, in cash. Yes, you didn't read that wrong, in cash. After spending $2.5 billion on Mojang a couple years back to completely bring Minecraft to their own platform amidst the hype, Microsoft finally found another place where they can spend their saved up $$$.

What does this mean?

Dishonored, Wolfenstein, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, The Evil Within, Prey, Rage and various other IPs (Intellectual Property) are now under full Microsoft control. According to some rumours floating around the internet, especially after the announcement, Sony had been in talks with Bethesda to have their upcoming game Starfield to become a PlayStation 5 exclusive, though with Microsoft snooping in and literally buying the whole company I don't see that happening.

Though it makes me wonder, what would happen if the next Dishonored, Wolfenstein or Fallout does actually end up being a Windows 10/Xbox exclusive?

Good news, bad news?

99% sure, good news. Microsoft has been pushing and investing a lot in the gaming scene recently. Even most Xbox exclusives back then are starting to be released on Windows 10 and Steam with very acceptable pricing. (i.e. Halo: Master Chief Collection, Forza Horizon, Gears of War etc.) I am sure if you have ever read or stumbled upon Fallout 76, you know how terrible it was. With Microsoft's creative direction leading Bethesda, (hopefully) we won't see any future scenarios where this happens.

Closing thoughts.

7.5 billion. 7,500,000,000.00 USD. That's a lot. Also, thanks for stealing away some potential exclusives off of Sony's hand, Microsoft. PC Gaming Master Race! #PCMR.



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6 comments
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Sony had been in talks with Bethesda to have their upcoming game Starfield to become a PlayStation 5 exclusive,

Couldn't this still be a thing? If Sony is willing to pay handsomely? :D

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I honestly don't know. Business wise, it would be "selling" one of your products to your competitor. But if Sony did actually offer a very, very, very nice sum that Microsoft executives like, maybe?

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Ye true.
I haven't heard about starfield, I just thought if it was a "series" it would make more sense just to sell it to Sony right? Or am I bad a business? xD

But I get what you are saying, by sell a product to one of your competitors :D

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I heard from a guy who heard from a guy starfield would be like Skyrim but in a scifi setting in space. Take it with a grain of salt though

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That would be an interesting concept if true.
I am not much into Scifi games, it doesn't tickles me the right places.
But I would always be up to try a new game :D

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99% sure, good news

I think I will be the contrarian and go with the opposite. When game companies get bought the players lose. When Microsoft buys something they monopolize and increase the price after initially under cutting competitors prices. I remember the navigator wars, between Netscape and Microsoft Explorer. I remember something called Lotus Suites office soft ware, Word Perfect and a host of other software types that Microsoft did not want completion in. So I think it will be a loss for the game players.

I remember a time when it was the game makers pushing the technology frontiers and the hardware builders needed to keep up. New games would come out that would barely play on older system. All the tweaking of DOS batch and config files to get the games to run, then came windows and it's blue screens of death. So no I don't hold your faith that 99% sure good news.

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