Bethesda is from Microsoft
As we all know by now, in recent months Microsoft has taken a big step towards the future. Not only thanks to the services and the various technologies offered, but also thanks to the investments made. A few months ago we came to discover that the Redmond giant has decided to acquire Bethesda in its entirety. Obviously the process has not turned out to be one of the easiest as, ZeniMax (and consequently Bethesda) in recent weeks has found itself in legal trouble. This inconvenience threatened to blow up Microsoft's plans, however the situation seems to have been resolved.Over the past few hours we have learned that the agreement between the two parties has officially been successfully concluded. This was confirmed by the stakeholder of ZeniMax, Providence Equity. Microsoft's investment is officially "realized". In financial terms, this wording confirms that the agreement was successful. As a result, Providence Equity received a financial return 6 times higher than the initial investment, thus giving full control of ZeniMax Media to Microsoft.
For the time being, this merger has not yet been listed as approved by the European Commission. This prompted Microsoft to file a new reminder notification with the Securities and Exchange Fee. Usually a similar procedure only happens when one company acquires another (in this case Microsoft acquiring Bethesda). The operation was therefore finalized with the sum of 7.5 billion dollars offered by the Redmond giant.
So, as anticipated many months ago, the various studios belonging to Bethesda officially join the Xbox Game Studios family. Obviously, the various most famous sagas such as Fallout, DOOM or The Elder Scrolls are also officially owned by Microsoft. It will therefore be the Redmond giant to decide exactly the fate of future Bethesda games. We still don't know if the various sagas will become total Xbox exclusives, but that would not surprise us at all.
If you are interested in trying out some titles made by Bethesda, then we suggest you take a look at the "recent" DOOM Eternal (PS4 | Xbox | Switch) and the ever-beloved Skyrim (PS4 | Xbox |)
Microsoft's Bethesda Purchase Approved By SEC
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially approved Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda. It was one of the last remaining roadblocks to the acquisition finally closing, but Bethesda isn't becoming part of Xbox just yet.
The SEC published a 'notice of effectiveness' for the transaction on its website this week. If you're not familiar with SEC filings, it doesn't exactly mean much on the surface, but this notice is used when the SEC accepts a company's registration. The 'S-4' on the page means this is related to either a merger or an acquisition, and if you go to the related documents for this notice, it lists Microsoft's registration amount as being $7.5 billion. This is the amount agreed upon during the deal last year.
The SEC's approval actually comes as we were expecting to hear word from the European Commission, the other major regulatory body that could put a stop to this deal. It was scheduled to make a ruling by March 5, though it doesn't appear to have made it public yet, assuming the ruling hasn't been outright delayed. Assuming that is approved, it shouldn't be too long before we see the companies working together officially.
That doesn't mean PlayStation fans will be immediately left in the dust, however. The upcoming game Deathloop will actually launch as a PlayStation console exclusive, as the agreement was made prior to the Microsoft acquisition, and Microsoft is honoring that. Future games are more up in the air, though it would certainly make sense for big franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Doom to become Microsoft-exclusive in order to draw in more players.
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Now Playing: Xbox Buys Bethesda: What It Means For Game Pass, Starfield, PS5 + More | Generation Next