It’s hard to overstate just how incredible the announcement of Microsoft buying Bethesda really is. A major third party publisher and all of their IP and studios being bought up by a platform holder is, potentially, industry shifting. But it’s also worth keeping in mind that in the long term, one of the key things Microsoft wants is to continue building the value of its Xbox Game Pass. Now all Bethesda titles will be coming to Game Pass, even if the games remain multiplatform under the Bethesda umbrella. Microsoft has expanded the service greatly, even marrying it to their cloud gaming service to launch it on Android. A key area is still missing- but the goal is to change that.
In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Alley, Xbox boss Phil Spencer talked about a lot of aspects of Microsoft’s current business, including the Bethesda purchase. When it came to Game Pass extending its reach to mobile, he acknowledged the issues with Apple in getting the service on iOS, saying, “We’re committed to bringing Game Pass to all mobile phones out there, including Apple phones. We’ll continue the conversations and I’m sure we’ll be able to get to some resolution.” While it’s clearly not saying much, it seems at least the company hasn’t given up.
If you are unaware, due to policies from Apple on the App Store, Game Pass could not originally be put there. While Apple did eventually change those rules to allow Game Pass, it was done so in a way that was incredibly impractical, where Microsoft would have to have a separate app for each game as opposed to a single dedicated Game Pass app. Apple has butted heads with a lot of companies due to their policies as of late, with the highest profile one being the dispute between them and Epic Games that is ongoing. It’s hard to say when, or if, we’ll ever see Game Pass on the App Store, but Microsoft seems determined at the very least.
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