Microsoft "Officially Welcoming Bethesda to Team Xbox"

[JPDunks4]

Just now, Dodger said:

Need this in this thread

 

 

Need a new one of him Dragon Shouting 

[Brick]

This is huge! It's one thing to buy an independent studio, it's an entirely different thing to buy a whole Publisher! Wow!

[skillzdadirecta]

5 minutes ago, thedarkstark said:

It's different because they were both 2nd party studios for Sony. Sony was already bankrolling all of their projects before they became an official entity. They also didnt publish their own games so yeah its a pretty massive difference.

Sunset Overdrive was an Insomniac game that was exclusive to the 360.

[Dodger]

 

I feel this thread also needs this

[thedarkstark]

5 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Sunset Overdrive was an Insomniac game that was exclusive to the 360.

Sure but that doesn't change any of what I mentioned. They could still theoretically do that now if Sony gave the thumbs up. I'm guessing sony didnt want to back the project so they offered it to MS after getting turned down

[Brian]

What games were Bethesda publishing that were not their own IP?  

[AbsolutSurgen]

You don't make a $7.5 billion investment without having a plan to drive appropriate returns.

 

I don't know how you get enough revenue from GamePass to justify this kind of investment.  I haven't modelled this out, but my sense is they can't drive enough profit on this unless Zenimax games continue to come out on PlayStation.  This is the "conventional wisdom" of why Sony/MS haven't purchased any of the big publishers to date...

[Mr.Vic20]

11 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

You don't make a $7.5 billion investment without having a plan to drive appropriate returns.

 

I don't know how you get enough revenue from GamePass to justify this kind of investment.  I haven't modelled this out, but my sense is they can't drive enough profit on this unless Zenimax games continue to come out on PlayStation.  This is the "conventional wisdom" of why Sony/MS haven't purchased any of the big publishers to date...

Agreed! I think Bethesda titles are likely to be Gamepass exclusive, but ultimately not Xbox/PC exclusive. So it will be on Gamepass for a while and then when it leaves Gamepass it will be eligible for offering on other platforms like PS and Steam.  

[AbsolutSurgen]

7 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Agreed! I think Bethesda title are likely to be Gamepass exclusive, but ultimately not Xbox/PC exclusive. So it will be on Gamepass for a while and then when it leaves Gamepass it will be eligible for offering on other platforms like PS and Steam.  

I'm still trying to interpret is this sentence from Spencer's blog:

Quote

One of the things that has me most excited is seeing the roadmap with Bethesda’s future games, some announced and many unannounced, to Xbox console and PC including Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.

My guess is was edited/re-edited by PR so much, that it not longer says anything.  But, I think he is trying to infer no PlayStation?

 

Update:  But he also said:

Quote

Phil Spencer has told Bloomberg journalist Dina Bass that Xbox would honor the exclusivity commitments for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo for PS5.

Spencer went on to say that future Bethesda titles would release on Xbox, PC, and "other consoles on a case by case basis."

So, I dunno what they are thinking.

[Mr.Vic20]

2 minutes ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

I'm still trying to interpret is this sentence from Spencer's blog:

My guess is was edited/re-edited by PR so much, that it not longer says anything.  But, I think he is trying to infer no PlayStation?

Maybe! As you said though there is a little bit of wiggle room to decide either way, PR nirvana!   

[Dodger]

Just wait for them to announce GP is coming to Playstation, then it will all make sense. 

[Mr.Vic20]

Future Bethesda Games Will Come To Other Consoles 'On A Case-By-Case Basis,' Microsoft Says

KOTAKU.COM

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Following the announcement that Microsoft is buying Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, Xbox boss Phil Spencer opened up the possibility that some of the newly acquired publisher’s future games could become exclusives.

 

[number305]

28 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Maybe! As you said though there is a little bit of wiggle room to decide either way, PR nirvana!   

 

My guess is that MS does not have it all really nailed down yet.  Some of these games are years down the road.  

[Remarkableriots]

40 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Agreed! I think Bethesda titles are likely to be Gamepass exclusive, but ultimately not Xbox/PC exclusive. So it will be on Gamepass for a while and then when it leaves Gamepass it will be eligible for offering on other platforms like PS and Steam.  

How long do games stay on Gamepass? I haven't ever used it so do most games leave the service?

[Mr.Vic20]

1 minute ago, Remarkableriots said:

How long do games stay on Gamepass? I haven't ever used it so do most games leave the service?

Typically a year, which would be the same or similar to many Sony exclusivity deals. 

[The def star]

27 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Typically a year, which would be the same or similar to many Sony exclusivity deals. 

Microsoft published games are on the service indefinitely while others are on a case by case basis. Red Dead 2 was on there for like 2 or 3 months while other have been there much longer.

[JPDunks4]

2 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Sunset Overdrive was an Insomniac game that was exclusive to the 360.

 

Xbox One*

[Mr.Vic20]

7 minutes ago, The def star said:

Microsoft published games are on the service indefinitely while others are on a case by case basis. Red Dead 2 was on there for like 2 or 3 months while other have been there much longer.

Ah, good to know! 

[The def star]

Just now, Mr.Vic20 said:

Ah, good to know! 

Vermintide 2 was on there in the beginning of the year and left about 3 or 4 months ago and now it's coming back 

[jaethos]

One thing to note about return on investment is that it doesn't have to pay back the purchase price, it just has to make more than that money would have made them sitting in the bank. If it does that they consider it worthwhile. It was the same line of thinking when they bought Mojang.

[Mr.Vic20]

4 minutes ago, The def star said:

Vermintide 2 was on there in the beginning of the year and left about 3 or 4 months ago and now it's coming back 

So you're saying it comes in...waves? 

 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, jaethos said:

One thing to note about return on investment is that it doesn't have to pay back the purchase price, it just has to make more than that money would have made them sitting in the bank. If it does that they consider it worthwhile. It was the same line of thinking when they bought Mojang.

And there are actual assets being purchased, not just future profits. 

[johnny]

I’m sure if Sony wants Bethesda games on their platform that MS will be willing to strike a deal so the game is on PS5 at some point (I doubt Sony will get anything on release day). But I don’t think Sony will want to pay the price lol 

[silentbob]

Could this also be a bigger push for cross platform play for multiplayer? If Sony wants the game, they better let their guys play our guys

[nublood]

This may have been answered, but does that mean ES6 will be exclusive to Xbox? I had no plans on buying that console.

[Remarkableriots]

1 minute ago, nublood said:

This may have been answered, but does that mean ES6 will be exclusive to Xbox? I had no plans on buying that console.

Nobody knows yet. 

[The def star]

6 minutes ago, nublood said:

This may have been answered, but does that mean ES6 will be exclusive to Xbox? I had no plans on buying that console.

Might be one of those case by case games Phil talked about but you won't need an Xbox to play ES6. Youll also be able to play it via Game Pass on PC, Phones and Tablets 

[Brian]

9 minutes ago, The def star said:

Might be one of those case by case games Phil talked about but you won't need an Xbox to play ES6. Youll also be able to play it via Game Pass on PC, Phones and Tablets 

This. You won’t have to own an Xbox to play its games. I would think by ES6 comes out (2024+), it will be exclusive. 

[DarkStar189]

All those games on game pass, day and date.......this feels one of the biggest video game shake ups in the last couple years.    Maybe I will also get an Xbox.  And why not. MS is making it ridiculously easy to do that. Isn't it like $35 a month to get a Series X if you didn't want to pay it all up front? MS might take over this coming generation. 

[Comet]

2 hours ago, AbsolutSurgen said:

You don't make a $7.5 billion investment without having a plan to drive appropriate returns.

 

I don't know how you get enough revenue from GamePass to justify this kind of investment.  I haven't modelled this out, but my sense is they can't drive enough profit on this unless Zenimax games continue to come out on PlayStation.  This is the "conventional wisdom" of why Sony/MS haven't purchased any of the big publishers to date...

 Totally agree. 7.5 billion to drive people to Game Pass doesn’t pass the sniff test. If I’m wrong I guess I’ll buy one of those cheaper crappier Xbox Series S or whatever and play the yearly Bethesda title there. About the only thing that could have gotten me to consider getting an Xbox. Well played MS. 

[SoberChef]

9 hours ago, Bacon said:

Damn. That is a big one. Like, imagine no longer buying TES DLCs cuz you get it all on gamepass. 

One look at what Bungie is doing with their next piece of content on GamePass shows that while the base product WILL be available day & date, that does not mean ALL content will be on GamePass. I would wager that this extends to further releases & content in regards to DLC and the like for any/all studios. Then again, maybe it's just a case by case basis and any title under the Bethesda banner has to automatically release any/all post launch content through GamePass?!?

[JPDunks4]

15 minutes ago, SoberChef said:

One look at what Bungie is doing with their next piece of content on GamePass shows that while the base product WILL be available day & date, that does not mean ALL content will be on GamePass. I would wager that this extends to further releases & content in regards to DLC and the like for any/all studios. Then again, maybe it's just a case by case basis and any title under the Bethesda banner has to automatically release any/all post launch content through GamePass?!?

 

Isn't the new Bungie DLC Day and Date in Game Pass?

[morph89]

5 hours ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Sunset Overdrive was an Insomniac game that was exclusive to the 360.

*Xbox One 

[XxEvil AshxX]

3 hours ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

Agreed! I think Bethesda titles are likely to be Gamepass exclusive, but ultimately not Xbox/PC exclusive. So it will be on Gamepass for a while and then when it leaves Gamepass it will be eligible for offering on other platforms like PS and Steam.  

 

I'm willing to bet the "case by case" basis they are referring to are smaller titles that don't cost as much to make but still have a draw, like Dishonored, Wolfenstein, Prey - Exclusive

The mega popular titles that are going to sell 30 million copies like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, DOOM - As many platforms as possible.

[nublood]

The more I think about it, the more I think this is kind of a dick move by Microsoft. Snatchin’ up studios and everything. Am I wrong? But what is “right and wrong” in this juncture. At the same time I know this is a Chess game. And that being said I just gotta wonder what Sony’s next move is.