Xbox knew from the start that every Bethesda game would be an exclusive
Microsoft decided from the moment of the acquisition that every Bethesda game would be an Xbox exclusive, according to internal emails.
When Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2020 for 7.5 billion dollars, the question that arose among the community was inevitable: would their video games automatically become exclusive to Xbox platforms? Phil Spencer called for fans to calm down, since he assured that each case would be studied individually, making it clear that there was the possibility that some of them would reach other platforms such as PlayStation 5 or Nintendo Switch. Even the head of Xbox stated just a few days ago that they’ve not yet decided if The Elder Scrolls VI would be an exclusive. Today we have learned that the reality is quite different.
That truth seems to be that Microsoft had already made the decision: all Bethesda games would be exclusive, despite stating at the time that they would simply arrive “before, or better, on Xbox.” as is the case with Redfall, with Starfield next September, with Indiana Jones in the future and with everything else. This was revealed through internal emails presented in the trial between Microsoft and the FTC for the purchase of Activision Blizzard.
The decision was already made
This is deduced from a conversation between Tim Stuart, Xbox CFO, and Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios. Stuart asks Booty if the exclusivity would apply to the new IP, which is supposed to be Starfield, to which Booty says “Nope. All games.” “All games going forward? Not just new IP but ALL? Wow,”said Stuart in astonishment.
In another exchange of emails, after said conversation, Stuart tells Phil Spencer how he wished that they could simply announce that every Bethesda game would be exclusive to their consoles, to which the Xbox leader replied that they couldn’t.
Just yesterday it was revealed that Pete Hines, the head of Bethesda, was not very pleased with their agreement with Xbox, when compared to what they’re planning to do (or talking about doing) with Activision Blizzard, since at the moment, it has not been guaranteed that Call of Duty will be exclusive to Xbox.
Source | TweakTown