When the Microsoft Bethesda acquisition was announced last year, it began a wave of speculation about the Xbox company bolstering its first-party lineup and exclusives. Which games would be kept for Microsoft’s own portfolio? Which would be allowed to flourish as multiplatform titles? Given the unfinished nature of the deal at the time, neither Microsoft nor Bethesda would say much about plans for the future. Now that Microsoft’s purchase of ZeniMax and all its studios—Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios—is complete, both companies have simply confirmed that “some” future games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC.
Reiterating previous commitments to make sure Bethesda games are at least better or best on Xbox platforms and services, Microsoft said “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.” The post from Phil Spencer avoids laying out any additional specifics for the time being, just saying they’ll have more to share later this year. It seems their plans will heavily focus on Xbox Game Pass, however.
The Bethesda post is similarly curt and vague, setting the stage by saying “First, let me say that we’re not making any landmark announcements or changes right now.” However, it seems the intention is that the studios will continue to operate much as they have in the past, only with “more support and resources” than ever before.
“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,” Bethesda’s post says, before turning attention to Game Pass. “Obviously, Game Pass has been an important initiative for Xbox, and we’ll be working on putting even more of our games into Game Pass than ever before. Beyond that? Stay tuned, we’re just getting started together.” Bethesda doesn’t mention anything about exclusivity of its games or the potential of them still coming to other platforms.
Finally, both posts take some time during this moment of celebration to honor Bethesda founder Robert Altman, who passed away last month. They say that his spirit of family, loyalty, creativity, and the power of gaming will live in in the future collaborations made possible by this acquisition.
Bethesda also put together a video highlighting the journey so far and marking the beginning of the journey yet to come as the company embarks on a new chapter as a Microsoft first-party studio.
For now, the only future games from the ZeniMax studios confirmed coming to PlayStation are Deathloop, a PS5 console exclusive coming from Arkane, and Ghostwire: Tokyo from Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks. There are also ongoing games like Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online that will continue to be supported on PlayStation. The platforms of announced titles like The Elder Scrolls VI, Starfield, and the Indiana Jones game are still unknown, as are potential platforms for future games in existing Bethesda franchises and any new IPs the studios create under the Microsoft banner.
