Xbox & Bethesda Presentation Reportedly Coming March 11

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The future of the Xbox brand could be laid bare soon, as a new rumor suggests that Microsoft will hold a presentation regarding its acquisition of Bethesda on March 11. Microsoft announced its intention to purchase ZeniMax Media at the end of 2020, and the deal has only just been finalized.

The details of the deal involve Microsoft paying $7.5 billion to purchase ZeniMax Media and all of the studios under its control. This means that Microsoft can add game studios like Arkane, Bethesda Softworks, and id Software to Xbox Game Studios. Microsoft officially welcomed the ZeniMax properties to the company earlier today, following the announcement that the acquisition was all but complete. The acquisition puts a lot of major franchises under Microsoft's control, but the initial focus has been centered on Bethesda and what it can bring to the table.

It seems that Microsoft is almost ready to discuss what the ZeniMax deal means for the Xbox brand. According to Venture Beat, Microsoft has an event planned for March 11, which will talk about the deal further in regards to Bethesda and its franchises. The main focus of the event will be how the deal will work with Game Pass. Microsoft has confirmed that additional Bethesda games will be coming to Game Pass this week, so it wouldn't be surprising if some were shadow-dropped after the event. It's likely that the remaining Dishonored, Doom, and Fallout games that aren't already on Game Pass will come to the service later this week.

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The event isn't expected to any include any new announcements, nor will it have any information about existing titles, like Starfield or The Elder Scrolls VI. It's possible that Microsoft will discuss whether future ZeniMax games will be PC/Xbox exclusives, but the particulars of that deal might not even be finalized at this point, and it could change further down the line. The event will likely be focused entirely on Game Pass content.

The Xbox brand has suffered in regards to exclusives, especially when Halo Infinite was delayed out of the Xbox Series X/S' launch window. The ZeniMax purchase has added lots of franchises to Xbox Game Studios, but it's still unclear what Microsoft's long-term goals for them are, outside of day one Game Pass launches. We'll hopefully learn more about the future of the Bethesda franchises under the Xbox banner later this week, assuming the rumors regarding the presentation are true.