Tim Stuart, CFO of Microsoft, does not rule out that Bethesda games end up seeing the light on other platforms, but his priority is Xbox Game Pass.
The future of Bethesda gaming after Microsoft’s purchase of Zenimax Media remains up in the air. No statement confirms or denies that the next titles of the eight internal studios of the North American firm may eventually see the light of day on consoles such as PlayStation, but will be evaluated “case by case”. Microsoft CFO Tim Stuart wants Bethesda titles to be played “first or better” on Xbox.
Bethesda as a major incentive for Xbox Game Pass
In a conference held at Jefferies Interactive Entertainment, Stuart made it clear that Microsoft’s main objective with Bethesda’s entry into Xbox Game Studios – to be completed in early 2021 – is none other than to strengthen its user community, which currently has with more than 15 million subscribers on Xbox Game Pass, where all the exclusive titles will be from day one. “In the long term we do not intend to simply get all Bethesda content from Sony or Nintendo,” he says, making it clear that the main objective is not to prevent those releases from being exclusively possible on Xbox and PC.
Xbox Game Studios will add all eight Bethesda studios in 2021.
“What we want is for that content, in the long run, to be first or better” on their platforms, for Bethesda content to show its best side on Xbox platforms. “Yes, that has nothing to do with being exclusive,” he continues. “But if you think of something like Game Pass, if it’s offered on Game Pass, that’s what we want to see and what we want to boost, our Game Pass subscriber base through Bethesda. “Again, I am not announcing that we will be pulling our content off other platforms one way or another, but I suspect that you will continue to see us shift to a first or best approach on our platforms.”
Microsoft’s policy in this regard seems clear, however: they do not intend to prevent some (if not all) Xbox Game Studios titles, including Bethesda, from being cross-platform, but the main goal is for Xbox Game Pass to be see enriched thanks to that commitment. There’s only one certainty: all games from all 23 Xbox Game Studios teams will be on Xbox Game Pass.
