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Xbox Confirms That Some Bethesda Titles Will Be Xbox & PC Exclusive
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Bethesda Softworks has officially joined the Xbox family; in announcing the news, Xbox Head Phil Spencer confirmed that some Bethesda-owned titles will be exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms in the future. Such an update comes on the heels of the European Commission approving Microsoft's ZeniMax Media acquisition. Days before then, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission similarly shared its approval of the union.
Microsoft originally shared its plans to acquire Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax last year in September. The purchase brings eight new studios to Xbox stable, including the likes of Arkane Studios, Bethesda Game Studios, MachineGames, and Tango Gameworks. Of course, the last several months have seen Phil Spencer and Co. bombarded with one key question - Which, if any, Bethesda titles will continue to release across all platforms? Because the deal wasn't finalized, Xbox executives could only divulge so much. But the brand's CFO, Tim Stuart, did note that players can expect Bethesda experiences to be "either first or better or best" in the Xbox ecosystem. Phil Spencer's latest update on the matter seems to express similar sentiments.
Upon confirming that Bethesda is now officially a member of Team Xbox, Phil Spencer wrote a blog post on Xbox Wire that all fans of Bethesda-owned properties will find pertinent. He noted Xbox and PC platforms will from here on serve as the best place to play new Bethesda games. In addition, Spencer confirmed "some new titles" will be exclusive across Xbox and PC. Spencer's statement reads in part:
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"This is the next step in building an industry-leading first-party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community. With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, 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."
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Clearly, the business-savvy Phil Spencer is carefully threading the needle with his above statement, leaving a lot open to interpretation. It's safe to say this discussion of exclusivity won't go away anytime soon, which keeps Xbox and its Bethesda ownership at the forefront of the conversation.
Based on Spencer's wording, it stands to reason PlayStation players can still expect to experience at least some Bethesda-made adventures in the future. Such titles will likely run better on Xbox platforms, however. It's also possible that games launching across all platforms could hit Xbox a year or more ahead of other consoles. But the specifics probably won't emerge until Bethesda is ready to talk more about its upcoming slate of games.
