Several weeks ago, we reported on the humongous news that Bethesda Softworks was set to be acquired by Microsoft, which made headlines throughout the gaming community. While the sale still isn’t final, Microsoft’s head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, divulges in a recent Gamereactor interview, that not only is he not currently sitting down with Todd Howard and talking their future, but that doing so would be illegal.
The interview speaks to a lot about Spencers thought process and what their strategy has been to acquire certain studios. There are some notable excerpts from the interview, many of which detail, not just the outlook of this particular acquisition, but as the direction of Xboxes gaming future as a whole.
“Is gaming better if more people get to play more of the great games in our ecosystem? I think that is true. And that is why we ship our game on Xbox, we ship our game on PC, and if you have an Android phone you can play our games too.”
For those that have been following Microsofts trajectory over the years, Spencer’s interview is more than just hollow words, as we’ve seen a steady migration to more inclusion from Microsoft’s gaming division as a whole. When it finally came down to talk about what’s been going on with the Bethesda acquisition there were some very rigid points that had to be pointed out.
“First of all, I would like to say that we haven't acquired ZeniMax. We have announced our intention to acquire ZeniMax. It is going through regulatory approval and we don't see any issues there. We expect early in 2021 the deal will close…
I'm not sitting down with Todd Howard and Robert Altman and planning their future. Because I'm currently not allowed to do that, that would be illegal. “
While it's apparent that Xbox can't push Bethesda to do anything at this time, he doesn't say specifically that Bethesda's direction won't change at some point down the line. The entire interview is worth a read, especially if you’re wondering where Microsoft’s head is at (and by that I mean the figurative head, as well as the literal Head of Xbox Gaming Division).
