Fans of Bethesda without an Xbox console or PC might need to think about picking up a new gaming machine sooner rather than later. Some future Bethesda titles “will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players,” according to Phil Spencer, the vice president of gaming at Microsoft.
Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax Media was made official yesterday after months of deliberation from the European Commission. And Spencer said today in an official blog post that it’s “an exciting day for Xbox.”
Spencer zeroed in on Bethesda, praising the “the creativity, insight, and community-first approach” of the developer of the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series, citing the union as “the next step in building an industry-leading first-party studios team.”
“Gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players,” Spencer said.
While Spencer specifically mentioned Bethesda, ZeniMax’s eight subsidiaries hold the keys to other popular IPs such as Quake, Doom, Dishonored, and Wolfenstein. It’s possible that anticipated new releases from these franchises will never make the jump to Microsoft’s competitors, such as Sony’s PlayStation or Nintendo’s Switch platforms.
Still, the acquisition isn’t stopping Microsoft from working on the PS5 timed console exclusives Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo set to come out later this year, according to Bloomberg. It’s possible that Microsoft will take the timed exclusive approach to future Bethesda games as well, including the highly anticipated space RPG Starfield.
