Acquisitions and mergers are not exactly uncommon in the games industry (or any industry, for that matter), but very few deals in the industry have been of the same scale and scope as Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda. As one of the biggest third party publishers around and the owner of some of gaming’s biggest and most popular franchises, the addition of Bethesda to Microsoft’s first party portfolio is a massive deal- but, of course, there are questions about how exactly Microsoft is going to handle Bethesda going forward. Will they be allowed to retain their autonomy and creative independence, or are they going to be integrated into Microsoft’s business more heavily?
According to Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty, it’s going to be a case of the former. In an interview with Le Figaro (via Reddit), Booty said that Microsoft is not going to interfere with Bethesda’s publishing wing, which includes everything from publishing and marketing to sales and communication, and more. At the same time, Bethesda’s studios are also going to be able to retain their creative freedom and independence, much like the approach that Microsoft is taking for all the studios it is acquiring.
Booty also re-iterated that Bethesda, much like all Microsoft studios, is going to focus on delivering content for Xbox Game Pass. At the same time, Booty says Microsoft doesn’t want its studios to create their games specifically based on what sort of an experience would work best for the subscription service.
In the same interview, Booty also confirmed that Microsoft and Bethesda will have joint press conference at E3 2021.