Rob Fahey - "The Zenimax acquisition isn't the opening shot of a scorched-earth chequebook war; it's simply designed to ensure a steady supply of multi-platform third-party titles that are guaranteed to be optimised for Xbox and, more importantly, to be part of the Game Pass subscription. The pitch to consumers is that you can play these games on PS5, sure, but if you had Game Pass you'd be getting a great experience and playing them as part of your monthly subscription. This isn't Microsoft trying to brute-force a console war victory with its chequebook; it's a strategic acquisition designed to make Game Pass -- arguably its single biggest competitive advantage in the upcoming generation -- into a better and more appealing service."
Ubisoft's brilliant Assassin's Creed Odyssey will become available via Xbox and PC Game Pass today, Microsoft has annou…
This week on the Game Deflators Podcast the guys discuss Microsoft's recent acquisition of Activision Blizzard, what it could mean for Microsoft's future plans in the console hardware business, and their relationship with Sony and Nintendo.
Cosy city builder Before We Leave is now available on Xbox to purchase and also amazingly via Xbox Game Pass.
If it wasn't for game pass's smart idea to allow you to install the games then I wouldn't have even bothered with it
"This isn't Microsoft trying to brute-force a console war victory with its chequebook"
Yeah it is.
They didn't need to buy Zenimax to get those games onto GamePass. They clearly did it to keep those franchises from ever going to the competition again.
For all we know this whole thing could backfire on them with pretty great consequences. If these studios end up becoming the next Rare or Lionhead, it'll just make gamers distrust Microsoft even more. If Elder Scrolls 6 comes out and it's full of paid mods and games as a service, there's going to be a lot of flak thrown at Microsoft for it even if it was Bethesda's call.
They aren't trying to buy industry dominance, they are trying to advance the industry into something that a lot of people don't want, online, cloud, subscription based gaming.
Here's what Phil Spencer said today about Bethesda's exclusivity. Look like Playstation only owners are out of luck.
https://twitter.com/_XboxNe...