(Photo: Bethesda) Microsoft has cleared the biggest hurdle in its bid to acquire ZeniMax Media—approval by the European Union.
As VGC reports, the EU antitrust regulator has now approved the acquisition, which Microsoft announced in September.
In return for $7.5 billion, Microsoft will take control of ZeniMax Media, which includes Bethesda Games Studios, id Software, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, Roundhouse Studios, and ZeniMax Online Studios.
It was the biggest and most surprising deal of 2020, and gives Microsoft a huge boost in the gaming business.
Once completed, Microsoft will own and control all The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, as well as id Software's entire library of IP (including Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake).
Add to that Dishonored, Prey, and The Evil Within.
We don't know when the deal will be concluded, but with the EU signing off, it could be finalized within the next couple of months.
When the deal was first announced, there was a question mark over ZeniMax games becoming Xbox exclusives.
Microsoft was quick to state that wasn't happening.
"What we'll do in the long run is we don't have intentions of just pulling all of Bethesda content out of Sony or Nintendo or otherwise," Xbox CFO Tim Stuart said at the time.
"But...we want that content, in the long run, to be either first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience, on our platforms.
We will want Bethesda content to show up the best...on our platforms."
Recommended by Our Editors
With Microsoft pushing the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles hard, combined with Xbox Game Pass becoming such an important subscription for the company, we could see everything ZeniMax studios produces to appear first on those consoles and Game Pass.
(Photo: Bethesda) Microsoft has cleared the biggest hurdle in its bid to acquire ZeniMax Media—approval by the European Union.
As VGC reports, the EU antitrust regulator has now approved the acquisition, which Microsoft announced in September.
In return for $7.5 billion, Microsoft will take control of ZeniMax Media, which includes Bethesda Games Studios, id Software, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, Roundhouse Studios, and ZeniMax Online Studios.
It was the biggest and most surprising deal of 2020, and gives Microsoft a huge boost in the gaming business.
Once completed, Microsoft will own and control all The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, as well as id Software's entire library of IP (including Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake).
Add to that Dishonored, Prey, and The Evil Within.
We don't know when the deal will be concluded, but with the EU signing off, it could be finalized within the next couple of months.
When the deal was first announced, there was a question mark over ZeniMax games becoming Xbox exclusives.
Microsoft was quick to state that wasn't happening.
"What we'll do in the long run is we don't have intentions of just pulling all of Bethesda content out of Sony or Nintendo or otherwise," Xbox CFO Tim Stuart said at the time.
"But...we want that content, in the long run, to be either first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience, on our platforms.
We will want Bethesda content to show up the best...on our platforms."
Recommended by Our Editors
With Microsoft pushing the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles hard, combined with Xbox Game Pass becoming such an important subscription for the company, we could see everything ZeniMax studios produces to appear first on those consoles and Game Pass.
