Microsoft opened last week with ana bang, after all, the takeover of the Publisher Bethesda was one of the largest deals in the company’s history. From the point of view of the Bethesda founder, this was an extremely clever move by the Xbox company.
It was the news of last week: Microsoft is taking over Zenimax Media and thus Bethesda Softworks at the same time. The acquisition was one of the largest in the history of the entertainment industry and is likely to transform the video game industry as the effects of this deal are not yet in sight. However, if Christopher Weaver, the Bethesda founder, has his way, the takeover was one thing above all, namely a brilliant move by the US company in competition with rival Sony.
The site Inverse recently had the opportunity to talk to Weaver about the deal in more detail. In his view, both Microsoft and Bethesda would benefit from the acquisition:
“I think this is an extremely interesting acquisition on the part of both groups. Microsoft deepens their bench instantly with one of the most experienced companies in entertainment software (during a time when video game sales are at an all-time high), and Bethesda gets the benefit of concentrating their creative firepower on software that feeds the Microsoft pipelines. A good prospective marriage of interests with a large domestic public partner.”
Furthermore, there are only “a limited number of proven creators of AAA. What Microsoft owns, Sony cannot get. There are many economies of scale that consolidation between the right partners has the capacity to provide, but the ultimate test will be evidenced by the quality of products produced over time.”
In addition, Weaver recognizes parallels between Microsoft’s Bethesda takeover and the purchase of the former Halo development studio Bungie. He explains more precisely:
“The acquisition of Bungie acted as an important trigger for the success of the early Xbox. Depending upon how soon Bethesda can prime the Microsoft pipeline, I suspect Microsoft is looking at their playbook and looking to repeat one of its “best moves.” If the strategy works, it will be a brilliant counter-move against Sony. Users from around the world will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this deal. I wish them well.”
The beneficiaries of an exclusive deal concluded before the takeover will definitely be PlayStation 5 owners, as the two upcoming Bethesda titles Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo will initially appear exclusively for the Sony console next year. Microsoft has already confirmed that it wants to honor these contracts.
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