In the hearing between Microsoft and the Federal Trade Commission on the “acquisition of Activision Blizzard”, Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox, explained that Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda. The main reason for ZeniMax, the parent company of B Corporation, is to prevent “Starfield ” from becoming an exclusive game on the Sony PlayStation platform.
According to Phil Spencer, Sony usually pays developers to keep their games exclusive for a limited time on the PlayStation platform. For Bethesda, games such as “Death Loop” and “Ghost Line: Tokyo” have been exclusive on the PlayStation platform for a year. In order to prevent “Starfield ” from being exclusive for a limited time due to Sony’s money, Microsoft must not Do not include “Acquire Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax” as a required option.
Phil Spencer believes that buying Bethesda and trying to buy Activision Blizzard is a way to compete with Sony, but this kind of competition will cost Microsoft a lot of money. The current proposed Activision Blizzard deal is worth 687 One hundred million U.S. dollars.
▲ “Starfield ” poster, source Bethesda
▲ “Starfield ” poster, source Bethesda
It is noticed that Microsoft spent $7.5 billion to acquire ZeniMax. After the transaction, Microsoft promised to launch exclusive Bethesda games for Xbox and PC. Currently known are “Starfield ” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” , “Redfall” and so on.
