The biggest gaming industry story of 2021 should be the announcement of Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda for seven and a half billion dollars in cash, which surprised almost everyone when it went live on September 21, 2020.
The deal, of course, is still going through the regulatory phases, but in a recent video interview with the Major Nelson podcast (episode 728), Microsoft’s head of Gaming Phil Spencer gave an update that everything is on track to end this year to trade. Spencer also said he’s very excited about the deal, as the Xbox Game Studios’ RPG capability is huge.
The moment they looked to possibly become part of a larger company and be sold, I was glad we were part of the conversation they were willing to have, and it really means something to me to sign up part of Xbox.
In 2021 we will get final approval. I feel really good about it, everything is on course. We then really start a bit of the planning we can do with them, and we are now very handy because they continue with the work they are doing as we do not own it yet.The other thing I will just say is the commitment that the company, Microsoft, gave us when we had the idea in the CEO, Satya Nadella, and the CFO, Amy Hood, when we said: ‘ We have this idea … ‘Our business is going well, we have a profitable, growing business. They believe a lot [in Xbox].
I mean, just the fact that we would go through an acquisition of this size. That Monday we announced that I could not sleep on Sunday night, I was nervous, I was anxious, I was excited, I had all the emotions. Then we kept it quiet, it was so nice to see the reactions from Xbox fans and probably the most important to me, now the Bethesda teams, because the teams will be very, very critical of our progress going forward.Exciting, exciting news. I can not wait to get it so we can start working as one company. I’m incredibly excited about Starfield and many other things, some announced and others unannounced, that they’re working on.
I just think it will be an amazing addition to our studios. When I think of our RPG capabilities with Obsidian, inXile, what Playgrounds does, what Bethesda can do, it’s a great ability. And also for FPS capabilities, with id Software and 343 …. It only doubles the size of our first party studios when Bethesda joins. I’m excited about 2021 and Bethesda is an incredibly important part of it.
Next year, Bethesda will release Deathloop (recently pinned for a May 21 date) and Ghostwire Tokyo from Arkane Studios and Tango GameWorks, but ironically, these two games will not be available on Xbox at first due to a pre-determined console-exclusive deal with Sony. .
That said, the biggest new title to come from Bethesda in 2021 should be Starfield. This is going to be the first new IP that BGS has made in twenty-five years, with a brand new Sci-Fi environment and the biggest overhaul of the Creation Engine to date. To be clear, Bethesda has not fully committed to releasing Starfield this year, but their three-year development shadows and recent rumors suggest the game will be available in the coming fall season.