This morning, Xbox officially welcomed Bethesda to the family with a post on Xbox Wire. The post provides a few high level details as to what Xbox fans can expect, while there were a few additional details shared by Xbox leadership.
Via the Xbox Wire post, we now have confirmation that at least “some” titles will be exclusive to Xbox and PC in the future.
This is the next step in building an industry-leading first party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community. With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.
In the short-term, and as we discussed on last week’s Bitcast, Bethesda titles will begin landing in Xbox Game Pass as early as this week per Aaron Greenberg.
Welcome Bethesda! We now have one of the largest, most creative, and quality first party studio line-ups ever. Great day to be an @Xbox fan. To celebrate, we’re bringing more @bethesda games into Game Pass later this week. Stay tuned! https://t.co/7Gjfv1xqCm
— Aaron Greenberg 🙅🏼♂️💚U (@aarongreenberg) March 9, 2021
Of course, Bethesda also shared the good news with a post from Pete Hines, Senior Vice President of PR & Marketing, providing an official statement and a fantastic trailer.
First, let me say that we’re not making any landmark announcements or changes right now. As we’ve all shared, the expectation is that Bethesda Softworks and our studios will continue as we have in the past, just with more support and resources than we’ve ever had before. Obviously, Game Pass has been an important initiative for Xbox, and we’ll be working on putting even more of our games into Game Pass than ever before. Beyond that? Stay tuned, we’re just getting started together.Second, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that it is a bittersweet day given that our founder, Robert Altman, passed away last month. Among his many admirable qualities was the incredible spirit of family and loyalty that he shared with all of us. I will be forever grateful for his efforts to find the perfect place for ZeniMax, Bethesda, and our studios and employees to continue their excellent work going forward.I’d also like to thank Phil Spencer and all the folks at Xbox and Microsoft who have been such a pleasure to work with as we prepare for this new chapter. The collaboration, mutual respect, and support they’ve shown to us during this process has been extraordinary. I’m pleased to continue the great relationships we’ve built together over the past few decades, first as partners and now as colleagues in the same company.And of course, I want to say thanks to all of you for your support. It is not something we ever take lightly or for granted. This year marks 35 years since the original creation of Bethesda Softworks. Reaching a milestone like that, while also going through a historic occasion like this acquisition, puts in perspective just how far we’ve come in that time. A journey that wouldn’t be worth it without all of you to share it with.
Our Take
All of the debate across the industry right now is focused on whether or not Bethesda games will be console exclusive to Xbox in the future. In our opinion, it’s smart for Xbox to not close any doors at this point in time which is likely why they’ve simply said “case by case basis” and in the post above, “some”. As players, we are excited about the future prospects of support for Bethesda development and what’s to come. In the meantime, Game Pass gets yet another boost!
