Bethesda’s leap to Xbox Game Pass adds 12 classics: Oblivion, more [Updated]

The marriage between Microsoft and Bethesda continued on Thursday with a roundtable discussion between major players from both teams, and it included a surprising announcement: from tomorrow, March 12, a treasure trove of Bethesda games will end up on the paid Xbox Game Pass service .

While the official announcement lists a full list of 20 Bethesda-published games on Game Pass, Bethesda already had a few games in service prior to today’s video presentation. The ‘new’ content for paying subscribers contains a total of 12 games:

The rest is visible in the list at the top of the article, and icons indicate whether a game is available on Windows 10 and / or streaming from xCloud. The list is missing some biggies previously published on Xbox consoles, including Dropout 3, The Evil Within 2, the 2016 Doem reload, and the original Anger from 2011. The update also does not extend xCloud access to existing Game Pass games that previously did not work in the cloud – and so far it does not bring PC classics outside the Xbox ecosystem into the Game Pass family , not even. for its Windows 10 level. Looking back at the list of Xbox’s earliest Elder Scrolls games is still a treat for anyone hungry to explore the series’ glory days (despite horse armor) before we hear about the previously announced Elder Scrolls VI.

The list does not currently include the current PlayStation console exclusively Deathloop and Ghostwire Tokyo, both will be launched for Sony’s consoles by the end of the year. Microsoft and Bethesda have yet to indicate whether or when the games could end up on Xbox consoles or Xbox Game Pass. Nevertheless, Microsoft previously promised that all first-party software would come on the Game Pass day-to-day for paying subscribers, and Bethesda’s upcoming games now end up in the plan.

Prior to the extensive discussion, led by Phil Spencer of Xbox, Bethesda Game Director Todd Howard, and Bethesda President Pete Hines, the combined companies were careful to warn fans that the speech was not necessarily ‘news’. not – at least, in terms of new game announcements. But during today’s meeting, we got some pieces of information. The first announcements of new content coming from the combined companies will appear “by the end of this summer”.

Games from Bethesda’s back catalog are also being worked on by Xbox’s “FPS Boost” team. The first game on today’s list to receive this treatment on Series X / S consoles, as officially confirmed during the round table The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, but we do not know when that game will get its patch or when ‘other games’ will get a similar treatment. The FPS Boost program for Series X / S consoles so far has an urgent need for content, with only five games supported today. (Outcome 4 was previously teased as part of this program, so we have an idea that it is part of the upcoming lead of the recipients of the patch.)

Update, 3:15 PM EST: While reviewing the listings’ quotes, I noticed one statement from Xbox CEO Phil Spencer that I’m taking out for you to investigate:

So of course I can not sit here and say that every Bethesda game is exclusive [to Xbox platforms], because we know it’s not true. There are contractual obligations that we are going to fulfill, as we always do in all these cases. We have games that exist on other platforms, and we are going to support the games on the platforms they are on. There are communities of players. We love those communities, and we will continue to invest in them.

And even in the future, there may be things that have contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we are going to do. But if you’re an Xbox customer, this is what I want you to know, this is to deliver fantastic, exclusive games to you that are shipped on platforms where Game Pass exists. And that’s our goal – that’s why we do it. It is the root of this partnership that we are building. The creative ability we can bring to the market for our Xbox customers will be the best it has ever been for Xbox after we finish here.

In other words: if you stop hoping that unannounced Bethesda games will start simultaneously or with a timely delay on Sony or Nintendo consoles, you need to cross your fingers that the systems support Xbox Game Pass. Spencer’s word choice at that point is pretty clever, as he subtly encourages fans to ask for greater platform support for that subscription service. Otherwise, future Bethesda games sound like they’ll be squarely locked into the Xbox family of devices and services.