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Microsoft says three future Bethesda games will be PC, Xbox exclusive

Draugoth

Gold Member
news-videogiochi-xbox-series-x-starfield-the-elder-scrolls-6-esclusive-microsoft-secondo-insider-1613294528579.jpg



Microsoft has issued a statement to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding its proposed acquisition of Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Call of Duty owner Activision Blizzard, in which the company outlines how three future Bethesda games, potentially RPG game Starfield, vampire shooter Redfall, and Skyrim sequel The Elder Scrolls 6, will be exclusive to PC and Xbox.

Earlier in December, the FTC filed an antitrust suit against the Microsoft Activision Blizzard deal, claiming that it could potentially hurt consumers and competition in the videogame industry. This was followed by a civil suit from a group of ten “videogamers”, also arguing that the deal would be harmful to the gaming market.

Microsoft has now issued a response to the FTC suit, in which it outlines its plans for future Bethesda games, having purchased the studio’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, in 2020.

“The complaint’s reference to Microsoft’s recent acquisition of ZeniMax—a set of gaming studios acquired in 2020—has no relevance to the current transaction,” Microsoft says, referring to the suit filed by the FTC. “Xbox anticipates that three future titles, all of which are designed to be played primarily alone or in small groups, will be exclusive to Xbox and PCs.”

The names of the titles are redacted from the publicly viewable version of Microsoft’s statement, but space RPG Starfield and vampire co-op shooter Redfall have already been confirmed as exclusive to the company’s platforms, with the Starfield release date hopefully on its way soon. However, the third “future title” could well be Skyrim’s successor, The Elder Scrolls 6. In November 2021, Microsoft’s head of gaming Phil Spencer gave an interview to GQ, and hinted at the possibility of The Elder Scrolls 6 being PC and Xbox exclusive.
 
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Mephisto40

Member
And yeh, what is DragonQuest doing in that graphic?

Seems to have nothing to do with the article so unsure why the OP has posted that?

Dragonquest is owned by Square, so there is more chance of the next games being exclusive to Playstation tbh
 
Pretty much what I always expected. Games with a large multiplatform community are not worth disrupting. Single player, small scale multiplayer, or new IP are going to be exclusive to justify MS spending $8 billion and paying all the staff to make games.

Call of Duty will remain multiplatform. Potential for a few other games as well from Activision / Blizz on a case by case basis such as Overwatch, Diablo, etc.
 
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sainraja

Member
I would guess Disney would have the final say on that one tbh, there is a good chance they will insist a game based on a franchise like that is on all platforms
Nah, not necessarily. Disney didn't force Sony to put Spiderman on all platforms (I understand the situation there is a little different and it might have been part of some negotiation (unverified)).
 
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Nah, not necessarily. Disney didn't force Sony to put Spiderman on all platforms (I understand the situation there is a little different and it might have been part of some negotiation (unverified)).
There's a God of War joke in the Guardians Christmas thing. They definitely have some leverage over Marvel because of their Spider Man film rights.

Indiana Jones being exclusive is really 50/50 at this point. Guardians and Avengers both multi-plat.
 

Ozriel

M$FT
WTF Dragon Quest is doing here?

Also everyone with brain knew MS bought Bethesda to removes games from Playstation, so nothing new here.

Well the certainly aren’t doing a good job of that, with Doom DLC showing up on PLayStation, Fallout 76 and ES Online content coming at a regular clip, among others.

I would guess Disney would have the final say on that one tbh, there is a good chance they will insist a game based on a franchise like that is on all platforms

It’s a franchise that’s been long dormant in gaming, and they were actively approached by Bethesda for the license, not the other way round. They definitely renegotiated a GP deal with MS post acquisition, so there’s no telling what platforms it’ll arrive on apart from Xbox/PC.
 
Fallout 5, Elder Scrolls 6, Wolfenstein 3, or Indiana Jones.

This is what Microsoft paid for: Guarantees for Xbox and Game Pass. I'm glad they're making it crystal they own this and will do whatever they want with it.
 

sainraja

Member
There's a God of War joke in the Guardians Christmas thing. They definitely have some leverage over Marvel because of their Spider Man film rights.

Indiana Jones being exclusive is really 50/50 at this point. Guardians and Avengers both multi-plat.
Yeah, that's what I think too. It is a 50/50 chance whether it is exclusive or not and that is kinda what I was getting at with saying I understand the situation is a little different but it doesn't mean Disney will enforce anything in Indiana's case. They surely could, but doesn't mean they will.

Disney doesn't own Spiderman? Sony does
I don't know where the deal between Sony/Disney stands now but Sony had the film rights, I don't think they own the character of Spiderman and that is what I was getting at with "the situation there is a bit different", it's not a simple situation let's just say.
 
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Mr Moose

Member
Fallout 5, Elder Scrolls 6, Wolfenstein 3, or Indiana Jones.

This is what Microsoft paid for: Guarantees for Xbox and Game Pass. I'm glad they're making it crystal they own this and will do whatever they want with it.
I thought it would've been the 3 games that were already confirmed exclusive to Xbox (I think?) that are in the OP.
in which the company outlines how three future Bethesda games, potentially RPG game Starfield, vampire shooter Redfall, and Skyrim sequel The Elder Scrolls 6, will be exclusive to PC and Xbox.
 
I thought it would've been the 3 games that were already confirmed exclusive to Xbox (I think?) that are in the OP.

I think that part is the speculation of the writer, but Microsoft does not list the three games in its filing. It just says 3 future games are Xbox and PC exclusive, but I don't believe they name what three those are, so it potentially doesn't include Starfield or Redfall.
 

Mr Moose

Member
I think that part is the speculation of the writer, but Microsoft does not list the three games in its filing. It just says 3 future games are Xbox and PC exclusive, but I don't believe they name what three those are, so it potentially doesn't include Starfield or Redfall.
So there's (at least) 3 on top of Starfield and Redfall?
 

Mess

Member
I mean was there any doubt ? It'll be the same fo activision after a while.

But tbf the last Bethesda game I really loved has been Morrowind and nowadays ID is a sad console shooter factory so I don't really care even if they stop publishing on steam.
 

Thebonehead

Banned
It's not Elder Scrolls VI - They obviously didn't read the filing very well.

From my post on the other thread....

Decisions regarding mid-sized games are not evidence of Microsoft’s incentives as they relate to Call of Duty: The games that the Phase 1 Decision cites as evidence of prior conduct are fundamentally different to Minecraft or Call of Duty and cannot be used as evidence of Microsoft’s “broad incentives” as they relate to Call of Duty. 214 • Titles such as Elder Scrolls VI (which is not expected to be released before [] with the last instalment in the series being released in 2011), as well as other future titles, will not involve Microsoft forgoing ca. USD [] per annum of revenue from PlayStation customers or disenfranchising ca. [] million MAU on PlayStation
 
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GHG

Gold Member
What's the third title then? Something from id that's unannounced? Or the Indiana Jones game?
 
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