Microsoft made a big splash with the announcement that it was acquiring Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax. The deal includes huge franchises like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom, but that’s not all. The acquisition actually includes eight new studios, all of which will now become first-party for Microsoft.
In the announcement, Microsoft mentioned all the studios represented by the acquisition. The company didn’t outline specific current or future game projects in the works from each studio, but we know some of them from prior announcements. Many recent games were co-developed across multiple studios.
- Bethesda Softworks
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Fallout 76
- Elder Scrolls Blades
- Starfield
- Elder Scrolls 6
- id Software
- Doom (series)
- Rage (series)
- Wolfenstein (series)
- ZeniMax Online Studios
- Elder Scrolls Online
- Fallout 76
- Arkane
- Dishonored (series)
- Prey
- Deathloop
- Wolfenstein Youngblood
- MachineGames
- Tango Gameworks
- The Evil Within (series)
- Ghostwire: Tokyo
- Alpha Dog
- MonstroCity: Rampage (mobile)
- Roundhouse Studios (formerly Human Head)
We can expect many of these games to hit Xbox Game Pass, along with new releases like Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6. That’s already a hefty catalog of new franchises under the Xbox umbrella, but questions have been popping up across social media regarding partnerships or interplays between those and other, currently owned Microsoft studios.
Obsidian, which had been acquired by Microsoft in 2018, gave a coy answer to a fan who asked if a real sequel to Fallout: New Vegas was now possible.
Obsidian developed the popular take on Fallout, but it hasn’t been involved in the series since. One of its recent games, The Outer Worlds, was widely seen as a spacefaring take on many of Fallout’s mechanics and concepts. Currently, Obsidian is working on its early access game Grounded, and its next RPG, Avowed.
And the studio Rebellion wondered aloud if this means that Microsoft now owns the rights to Rogue Warrior.
Does this mean Xbox owns Rogue Warrior now.
Asking for a friend.— Rebellion (@Rebellion) September 21, 2020
It’s unknown, at this time, what the acquisition news means for already-announced PS5 exclusives Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop. Bethesda has already stated that Elder Scrolls Online support will continue on PS4.
These studios complement the existing slate of Xbox Game Studios. Those already represented a wide swath of exclusives and first-party franchises, including Halo, Gears of War, and Minecraft. The Bethesda acquisition helps round out the portfolio, especially when it comes to two key genres: first-person shooters with the addition of Doom and Wolfenstein, and RPGs with franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Arkane also adds weight to the library with critical successes, albeit ones that aren’t as commercially explosive as some of Bethesda’s other games.
Xbox Game Studios (new acquisitions bolded)
- 343 Industries
- AlphaDog
- Arkane
- Bethesda Softworks
- Bethesda Game Studios
- Compulsion Games
- Double Fine Productions
- id Software
- inExile Entertainment
- MachineGames
- Mojang Studios
- Ninja Theory
- Obsidian Entertainment
- Playground Games
- Rare
- Roundhouse Studios
- Tango Gameworks
- The Coalition
- The Initiative
- Turn 10 Studios
- Undead Labs
- World’s Edge
- Xbox Game Studios Publishing
- ZeniMax Online Studios
The acquisition news came one day before preorders go live for Xbox Series X and Series S. Read our Xbox Series X and Series S preorder guide for more details
