In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Bethesda Game Studios Director Todd Howard reflected on the recent acquisition from Microsoft.
The entire interview is worth the read and provides some pretty great insight into the behind the scenes happenings in the industry, in addition to how this acquisition will affect Microsoft, Bethesda, and consumers.
To that end, Howard commented on how he underestimated how the acquisition would affect everyone,
“I grossly underestimated the impact in the larger gaming community. I was naively surprised at how big it landed and what it meant in the larger context of games, but I was happy with the feedback we saw. A lot of people saw it as a big positive thing, the same way we do."
He also discussed his thoughts on the next generation of gaming,
"The next generation is about bringing access to games to everybody, no matter where they are in the world or what devices they like to play"
Of course, the conversation eventually discussed the fate of a major franchises like Elder Scrolls VI on non-Microsoft platforms. The interviewer mentioned that it would be hard to imagine how a game like that would be restricted to Microsoft’s platforms to which Howard replied,
"I would agree that is hard to imagine.”
While that’s hardly confirmation that Elder Scrolls VI will release on other platforms, it’s not an outright denial either. We’ll simply need to see how this acquisition plays out in the coming years.