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[IbizaPocholo]

Phil Spencer Believes Bethesda Will Be Critical to Xbox's Progress; Excited About Announced & Unannounced Games

During the latest episode of Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s Xbox Podcast, division head Phil Spencer discussed the acquisition of Bethesda.

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During the latest episode of Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb’s Xbox Podcast, division head Phil Spencer discussed the acquisition of Bethesda.

Spencer mentioned that final approval of the deal will come in 2021 and everything is on track. He feels really good about it. At the moment Microsoft is “hands-off” with Bethesda as they continue to do the work they’re doing, as the deal hasn’t gone through yet.

Incidentally, speaking about the $7 billion deal, Spencer confirmed that the business is doing well, and it’s profitable and growing.

He then mentioned that Bethesda’s teams are going to be “very, very critical” to Xbox’s progress going forward. He can’t wait to close the deal so that they can start working as one company. He is “incredibly excited” about Starfield and more games, some of which have been announced already and some haven’t.

Spencer believes Bethesda is going to be an “incredible addition” to Microsoft’s first-party studios. He is excited about 2021 and Bethesda is “an incredibly important part of that.”

 

[Superkewl]

cant wait till the deals done and we can start getting some concrete news

 

[Stiflers Mom]

Spencer believes Bethesda is going to be an “incredible addition” to Microsoft’s first-party studios. He is excited about 2021 and Bethesda is “an incredibly important part of that.”

I don't want to be the negative Nancy here, but how is this supposed to matter in any way before their first big exclusive drops?
Which might be many years off at the moment.

 

[GenericUser]

Such a intelligent man. Imagine the skyrim successor being an important game. Only geniuses would think of that. I had no clue, thanks mr. spencer.

 

[SupremeHoodie]

Still so surreal to think about.

 

[Jaguar Victory]

Such a intelligent man. Imagine the skyrim successor being an important game. Only geniuses would think of that. I had no clue, thanks mr. spencer.

And conversely you, the internet dingus. Surely you are more intelligent so I can't wait to see how you answer these when you get interviewed.

 

[Sun Blaze]

Good thing Uncle Phil said that. I was worried it was a frivolous purchase to show Chris Robert's who still had the most money.

 

[Deleted member 471617]

Acquiring ZeniMax could pay off in the first year alone if Wolfenstein III and Starfield gets released in 2021. I'm expecting Wolfenstein III in June/July but not expecting Starfield until March 2022. With the exception of the two timed console exclusives that Sony paid for (which I find hilarious) and future MMO type games like The Elder Scrolls Online, I am fully expecting every game to be fully exclusive to the Xbox eco-system and PC.

 

[Potato Chip PRO]

When the deal is done, I'm hoping to see some news on Starfield soon. Love the Sci-fi RPG

 

[sinnergy]

He knows what they have cooking !

 

[The Pleasure]

Acquiring ZeniMax could pay off in the first year alone if Wolfenstein III and Starfield gets released in 2021. I'm expecting Wolfenstein III in June/July but not expecting Starfield until March 2022. With the exception of the two timed console exclusives that Sony paid for (which I find hilarious) and future MMO type games like The Elder Scrolls Online, I am fully expecting every game to be fully exclusive to the Xbox eco-system and PC.

Didn't wolf 2 bomb? Gameplay kinda sucked on tnc. Was youngblood any good?

 

[Coolwhhip]

A podcast with 2 used cars salesmen must be a great listen.

 

[Dr Bass]

He was also really confident about their big Xbox reveal video as well.

 

[Tomeru]

cant wait till the deals done and we can start getting some concrete news

You're going to get alot of promises.

 

[The Pleasure]

He knows what they have cooking !

Another elder scrolls game, another doom game, another wolfenstein game, another dishonored game. Not bad but not unknown.

 

[LisaMariaMartin]

Hope every game is exclusive

 

[FranXico]

A podcast with 2 used cars salesmen must be a great listen.

It is, especially for those who are already committed to buying those used cars at monthly installments and will vouch for their fine quality no matter what.

 

[FranXico]

Hope every game is exclusive

Of course they will be exclusives. That's guaranteed.

What surprises me is that nobody hopes for them to be good. Or maybe it shouldn't.

 

[Boss Mog]

Fallout and Elder Scrolls have become quite stale, it would take a complete reinventing to get me remotely interested. Phil made the same promises for the XB1 in 2014 and nothing came of it.

 

[Fredrik]

Of course they will be exclusives. That's guaranteed.

What surprises me is that nobody hopes for them to be good. Or maybe it shouldn't.

I think Starfield is still up in the air regarding exclusivity since it has already been announced as a multiplat. But The Elder Scrolls VI should be exclusive to Xbox and PC, which may or may not be a problem for people here depending on if they have a gaming PC or not.

 

[Kagey K]

I don't want to be the negative Nancy here, but how is this supposed to matter in any way before their first big exclusive drops?
Which might be many years off at the moment.

Zenimax don’t go years between releases, other than Bethesda they usually have a short announcement to release window.

I don’t expect much had changed and people thinking some of these games are a long way out are going to be surprised.

 

[Kagey K]

I think Starfield is still up in the air regarding exclusivity since it has already been announced as a multiplat. But The Elder Scrolls VI should be exclusive to Xbox and PC, which may or may not be a problem for people here depending on if they have a gaming PC or not.

If there weren’t any exclusivity contracts, it’s really not up in the air, they said coming to next gen consoles, and didn’t specify which ones.

 

[Mokus]

He is right. Unlike 343 industries, it is a lot more likely Bethesda will deliver system seller games.

 

[fermcr]

Bethesda will be critical for Xbox’s Progress if they keep Bethesda games exclusive. Games like Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout, etc, need to be exclusive, otherwise, what's the point of a Xbox?

 

[Cyberpunkd]

I don't want to be the negative Nancy here, but how is this supposed to matter in any way before their first big exclusive drops?
Which might be many years off at the moment.

Maybe, just maybe their first exclusive is on track for reveal during E3 2021, releasing in the fall? Similar to Fallout 4?
Spencer for sure knows full list and estimated timeline of all the projects at Bethesda.

 

[CertifiedKiwi]

Bethesda will be critical for Xbox’s Progress if they keep Bethesda games exclusive. Games like Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout, etc, need to be exclusive, otherwise, what's the point of a Xbox?

I'm pretty sure their strategy with regards to Xbox is the total opposite of this?

 

[Bridges]

Didn't wolf 2 bomb? Gameplay kinda sucked on tnc. Was youngblood any good?

Youngblood sucked in pretty much every respect but it can still be a pretty fun (and short) time if you're doing co-op with a friend.

I don't think Wolf 2 did particularly well but it was critically acclaimed. I agree, the gameplay sucked, but the story and set pieces were really cool.

The game might get a bit more attention this time around if it launches day one on Gamepass, and I think all the previous entries have rotated in and out of GP over the last couple years so the subscriber base may already be caught up for when it releases.

 

[Fredrik]

If there weren’t any exclusivity contracts, it’s really not up in the air, they said coming to next gen consoles, and didn’t specify which ones.

I’d say it’s quite obvious they talked about next gen PS and Xbox and not just Xbox Series X and S, but sure if there were no contracts I guess plans can change. I think it’ll be insanely toxic if it becomes an exclusive. Not sure if MS would gain anything from it tbh.

 

[Riky]

Give us a Quake reboot Phil.

 

[Whitecrow]

Well, his job is to be "excited", always and forever for whatever XBOX is doing.

For once, it would be great if those words came from other XBOX execs that are not Phil.

 

[Starbuck2907]

Bethesda will be critical for Xbox’s Progress if they keep Bethesda games exclusive. Games like Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout, etc, need to be exclusive, otherwise, what's the point of a Xbox?

We are all probably looking at one year gamepass exclusives before they go up for sale outside the game pass ecosystem. That’s my guess.

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Another reason not to buy an Xbox.

 

[Kagey K]

I’d say it’s quite obvious they talked about next gen PS and Xbox and not just Xbox Series X and S, but sure if there were no contracts I guess plans can change. I think it’ll be insanely toxic if it becomes an exclusive. Not sure if MS would gain anything from it tbh.

At the same time,what would they lose from it?

How does it become toxic to make a game a game you own exclusive?

 

[Fredrik]

At the same time,what would they lose from it?

How does it become toxic to make a game a game you own exclusive?

Exclusives are always toxic, especially if people assumed they would be everywhere, that’s why this deal stirred up so much negativity. Might not matter much for most people here who have all platforms but outside the core bubble I think there would be more negative social media noise than Microsoft need. And they already have future DOOM games to worry about as well. I just fear that things will become terribly toxic once all release plans are official.

 

[Shmunter]

And I believe in Phillip Spencer

 

[Beer Baelly]

Wheres that Prey 4K/60fps patch

 

[Mister Wolf]

Announcing Starfield as Xbox console exclusive will make a big statement.

 

[kuncol02]

Exclusives are always toxic, especially if people assumed they would be everywhere, that’s why this deal stirred up so much negativity. Might not matter much for most people here who have all platforms but outside the core bubble I think there would be more negative social media noise than Microsoft need. And they already have future DOOM games to worry about as well. I just fear that things will become terribly toxic once all release plans are official.

Good thing that MS don't have exclusives then. Judging by other threads everyone has gaming PC more powerfull than any console.

 

[Leyasu]

I don't want to be the negative Nancy here, but how is this supposed to matter in any way before their first big exclusive drops?
Which might be many years off at the moment.

Because it is a long term investment. They are playing the long game


Edit. I see people still think that their future games are coming to PlayStation.

 

[Fredrik]

Good thing that MS don't have exclusives then. Judging by other threads everyone has gaming PC more powerfull than any console.

Heh everybody knows that’s bs and it’ll be very clear further into the gen

 

[PropellerEar]

Good for Xbox, at least someone is excited.

 

[Joho79]

Exclusives are always toxic, especially if people assumed they would be everywhere, that’s why this deal stirred up so much negativity. Might not matter much for most people here who have all platforms but outside the core bubble I think there would be more negative social media noise than Microsoft need. And they already have future DOOM games to worry about as well. I just fear that things will become terribly toxic once all release plans are official.

Making Spider-Man exclusive to one platform could be seen as toxic too I guess. Lots of kids and man children likes a super hero.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

We are all probably looking at one year gamepass exclusives before they go up for sale outside the game pass ecosystem. That’s my guess.

Yes, Microsoft bought Bethesda and all their studios so they can have a deal equal to ‘timed exclusivity’ which costs several magnitudes less money. /s

Most likely scenario - all Bethesda games are exclusive to Xbox and PC. Less likely scenario - exclusive to Xbox only. Fanboy scenario - PlayStation will see Bethesda’s games one day.

 

[yazenov]

After the Cyberpunk controversy, if Bethesda releases another unoptimised buggy game like fallout 76, there will be blood. People aren't so forgiving nowadays.

Phil better be prepared for some damage control.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Exclusives are always toxic, especially if people assumed they would be everywhere, that’s why this deal stirred up so much negativity. Might not matter much for most people here who have all platforms but outside the core bubble I think there would be more negative social media noise than Microsoft need. And they already have future DOOM games to worry about as well. I just fear that things will become terribly toxic once all release plans are official.

Any yet nobody would even entertain the idea of games coming to Xbox if it was Sony that bought Bethesda. Double standards much?

 

[Clear]

Because it is a long term investment. They are playing the long game


Edit. I see people still think that their future games are coming to PlayStation.

Well it makes sense, especially in the long term.

Just having all Bethesda games day #1 on GamePass is as a big as an advantage as it gets, with Playstation versions coming out only at SRP, possibly some time later, they grow income, brand awareness, etc. Without hurting, in fact actively driving forwards the value of their flagship service.

MS approach is a "wide blue ocean" sort of thinking: They are more interested in expanding demand for their services than destroying the existing competition. Their long term vision is that every cloud-connectible device with a display and some provision for input is an Xbox-capable system, in that context even 150m Playstations is a drop in the bucket.

Sony are not building their future around a GamePass-alike service, which is why they'd handle acquisitions and exclusivity for product gained that way differently. There is no double-standard to compare because the business models are very different.

 

[Fredrik]

Any yet nobody would even entertain the idea of games coming to Xbox if it was Sony that bought Bethesda. Double standards much?

Playstation is a much bigger platform than Xbox so it’ll always stirr up more negativity when a game dodge Playstation than Xbox. But personally I’m always negative to Sony buying studios since I play on PC and most Sony exclusives don’t come there. Microsoft is always going to be the lesser evil of the two.

 

[The Hamburglar]

How is 7 billion good business when between bethesda ips won't generate anywhere near 7 billion over 10 years, especially if all that shit is on gamepass.

 

[phil_t98]

Exclusives are always toxic, especially if people assumed they would be everywhere, that’s why this deal stirred up so much negativity. Might not matter much for most people here who have all platforms but outside the core bubble I think there would be more negative social media noise than Microsoft need. And they already have future DOOM games to worry about as well. I just fear that things will become terribly toxic once all release plans are official.

would you like to see sony games on. xbox and pc then?

 

[Fitzchiv]

Mr Matty Plays made the point a while back, Microsoft now own Bethesda and Obsidian...surely it's time to make right on all the New Vegas nonsense and give Obsidian another crack at that IP..