On September 21, 2020, the gaming landscape changed forever. Microsoft purchased ZeniMax Media and, with it, all of the company's holdings which includes several of the gaming industry's biggest studios. Many of the most important video games of the past two decades came from the studios Microsoft just acquired.
To put Microsoft's acquisition into perspective, consider the price tag: $7.5 billion. This is almost double the $4.05 billion Disney paid for Star Wars and Lucasfilm back in 2012. The steep contrast in cost is a testament to the significance of the 8 studios Microsoft bought.
The center piece of the acquisition is Bethesda, the home of Elder Scrolls and Fallout – two titan franchises. The last Elder Scrolls main entry, the The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, earned approximately $450 million dollars alone. With Bethesda, Microsoft also got ZeniMax Online, a studio who has turned Bethesda's properties into MMO RPGS. While Bethesda's Fallout 76 had a notoriously terrible launch, Elder Scrolls Online has garnered a positive reputation, and the potential for the both games to grow is astronomical. Together, Bethesda and ZeniMax Online have massive profit potential, but they only constitute a quarter of Microsoft's studio purchase.
All of Microsoft's New Studios
Aside from Bethesda, the other major studios Microsoft acquired are id Software, Arkane Studios, and Machine Games. id Software popularized the FPS genre in the 1990s and revitalized the genre decades later with their new iterations in the Doom franchise. Machine Games expanded id Software's legacy with their bold re-imagining of the Wolfenstein series, taking the grandfather of FPS games and adding pathos into the mix. Their last major entry in the series, 2017's Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus, garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards for its narrative sophistication. Arkane Studios created the Dishonored franchise, rebooted Prey, and is behind the promising 2021 game, Death Loop.
Alongside those major studios, Microsoft also got a couple smaller, but still highly respected, developers from ZeniMax Media. Tango Gamewords was founded by industry legend Shinji Mikami, a core creator of Resident Evil, and is behind the impressive Evil Within series and the upcoming title Ghostwire: Tokyo. Alpha Dog Games is a mobile game developer and created Monstrocity: Rampage and Wraithborne. The last studio acquired by Microsoft is called Roundhouse Studios. A developer formed by Bethesda a few years ago, they have not created any games yet and are working on undisclosed projects. However, they are comprised of industry veterans who worked on classic FPS games, like 2006's Prey.
The Complete List of Microsoft's Acquisitions From ZeniMax
- Bethesda
- ZeniMax Online
- id Software
- Arkane
- Machine Games
- Tango Gameworks
- Alpha Dog Games
- Roundhouse Studios
The implications of Microsoft's momentous purchase will not be fully known for years. Its possible some the biggest multi-platform franchises, like Elder Scrolls and Doom, will cease to be on Sony consoles, but only time will tell. All that can be said for certain is this: Microsoft now owns some of the industries most important franchises and studios, and with their significant monetary backing, the sky is the limit.