Xbox is officially welcoming Bethesda Softworks to the family.
On Tuesday, the Microsoft-owned gaming brand announced the completion of the acquisition of ZeniMax Media, i.e. the Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher’s parent company. The deal sees the folding in of Bethesda Game Studios, iD Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios into the Xbox framework.
“Our goal is to give these teams the best foundation for doing their greatest work and to learn from them as we continue to build Xbox into an inclusive platform for all players,” Phil Spencer, head of Xbox and executive VP of gaming at Microsoft, said on Tuesday. “This is the next step in building an industry-leading first party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community. With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.”
In a separate statement, Pete Hines—SVP of PR & marketing at Bethesda Softworks—said the finalization of the acquisition deal marks “the beginning of a new chapter” in which the Bethesda team will become part of the Xbox and Microsoft family.
“First, let me say that we’re not making any landmark announcements or changes right now,” Hines assured longtime Bethesda fans on Tuesday. “As we’ve all shared, the expectation is that Bethesda Softworks and our studios will continue as we have in the past, just with more support and resources than we’ve ever had before.”
Both Hines and Spencer’s statements make special mention of ZeniMax co-founder Robert Altman, who died in February.
“I will be forever grateful for his efforts to find the perfect place for ZeniMax, Bethesda, and our studios and employees to continue their excellent work going forward,” Hines said.
The deal was first reported back in September of last year, with the amount said at the time to be a whopping (but understandably so) $7.5 billion. As Hines explained in Tuesday’s extended statement, the deal is only just now being made official due to having passed requisite regulatory approvals and being signed by all parties.
Complex has reached out to reps for ZeniMax Media and Xbox for additional comment on this latest development and will update accordingly.
