In Thursday’s Bethesda and Xbox stream, the now-joint studios revealed that more information about current-gen upgrades for older Bethesda games (and possibly more forward-looking information/reveals) will be coming this summer. The Xbox Series X/S brought the gaming company into the current generation when it launched alongside competitor Sony’s PlayStation 5 in November 2020. Bethesda is a similarly long-running industry icon, with the publisher having been established back in 1986 and producing iconic series such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
While Microsoft’s buyout of Bethesda Softworks was announced in September of last year, the massive deal had not yet been completely approved. However, a major step towards finality was recently taken when the European Commission approved the $7.5 billion transaction. This development was followed by the deal’s approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, meaning that the legality of Microsoft’s ownership of Bethesda is now confirmed.
In a stream held on the Xbox and Bethesda YouTube channels, key personnel revealed that more information about current-gen upgrades of old Bethesda titles will come in Summer 2021. Backward compatibility was a specific point brought up by Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard, as Xbox Game Pass allows easy distribution of classic titles such as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Xbox Games Marketing head Aaron Greenberg then confirmed that a number of these older Bethesda titles will receive performance boosts on Game Pass, with information on specific titles being reserved for this summer. Of course, it’s entirely likely that new information about new or known upcoming titles that could also be revealed at this summer event, as these backward compatible developments may only be part of a wider showcase.
As two of the biggest companies in the games industry, Xbox’s buyout of Bethesda sent waves through the gaming community. Bethesda recently released a video titled “Here’s to the Journey” celebrating the buyout by taking a look at the company’s long history. From the publisher’s establishment in 1986 to its most recent releases such as Prey and Fallout 76, the video demonstrates the impact that Bethesda has had on the landscape of the medium. The buyout is most notable because of the implication that future Bethesda titles will be exclusive to Xbox consoles, with the popularity of Bethesda’s games creating a huge incentive for gamers to purchase the Xbox Series X/S over the PlayStation 5. While the extent of this exclusivity is not fully known, it seems clear that most (and, eventually, maybe all) of the publishers games will be Xbox-exclusive.
The buyout arguably gives Microsoft a huge leg up over PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, with a host of future exclusive titles having the potential to draw more customers to Xbox than ever before. Bethesda also possesses a back catalog of older titles in addition to future creations, and their enhanced presence on Xbox Game Pass is sure to attract fans of these classic games.
