Bethesda’s Founder Discusses the Acquisition of Zenimax by Microsoft

In a recent interview with Inverse, Bethesda founder Christopher Weaver was asked about the recent acquisition of ZeniMax Media and, in turn, Bethesda by Microsoft and what it could mean for the future titles.

A few days ago, Microsoft had announced that it had purchased ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, for a whopping $7.5 billion.

This acquisition is an extremely big deal, as the dawn of the next-generation of gaming is coming soon as well.

Considering how the PS5 has stacked up some of its most anticipated titles on the console’s launch, Microsoft had to do something to level the playing field.

Now that Microsoft essentially owns studios like Arkane, Bethesda, id Software, among others, they have certainly made things very difficult for Sony.

“I have yet to meet an executive who does not want to accelerate the sale of a potential product. The trick is to keep those administrators at bay until a product is truly ready for prime time.

Bethesda has been producing commercial software for a very long time. I have to believe Microsoft execs will be responsive to Bethesda’s input.”

Interview, Christopher Weaver, Founder, Bethesda

When further asked to reminisce about Microsoft and Bethesda’s relationship in the early 2000s, he stated that he had closely worked with the original Xbox development team members and shared many thoughts on the next-generation consoles could offer.

“That team took many leaps of technical faith and built a box that IMHO surpassed everything else at the time. While overseas sales might not have reflected that, when coupled with forward-looking moves to Xbox Live, and their prescient purchase of studios such as Bungie, Microsoft has proven they are a force with whom everyone in the industry must reckon.”

Weaver

Coming to the most important thing that was asked, whether Bethesda’s future titles will be available on other platforms or not, he stated that there must be a reason why Microsoft purchased ZeniMax at this point when the next generation of consoles is right around the corner. He also added, “What Microsoft owns, Sony cannot get.”

Regardless, it is still yet to be seen how Sony responds to Microsoft’s aggressive expansion strategy. One thing is for sure, this time around, the console war is surely going to be a spectacle!