Microsoft has confirmed three Xbox and PC exclusive titles are in development by Bethesda Softworks.
- READ MORE: Veteran composer Inon Zur talks 20 years of Bethesda: “‘Starfield’ is my best score to date”
Back in January, Microsoft acquired Activision in a deal thought to be worth £50billion ($68billion USD), with at least 16 regulatory bodies launching investigations into the proposed takeover since, in order to assess its likely impact on competition.
Earlier this month, America’s Federal Trade Commission released a statement saying it hopes to block the takeover because the proposed deal would see Microsoft “gain control of top video game franchises, enabling it to harm competition in high-performance gaming consoles and subscription services by denying or degrading rivals’ access to its popular content.”
Microsoft has since released a 37-page response, claiming the investigation is “unconstitutional” but Microsoft president Brad Smith has told The Verge that “even with confidence in our case, we remain committed to creative solutions with regulators that will protect competition, consumers, and workers in the tech sector. As we’ve learned from our lawsuits in the past, the door never closes on the opportunity to find an agreement that can benefit everyone.”
Also included in the 37-page rebuttal, Microsoft has confirmed that Bethesda (which it acquired in March 2021) are set to release three games in the near future that will only available on Xbox and PC, though their titles have been redacted.
“Xbox anticipates that three future titles [REDACTED], all of which are designed to be played primarily alone or in small groups, will be exclusive to Xbox and PC,” reads the statement.
Microsoft has filed a response to the FTC’s lawsuit challenging the Activision acquisition. In the response, Microsoft admits that “Xbox anticipates that three future [Bethesda] titles…will be exclusive to Xbox and PCs”
these will be primarily single player games pic.twitter.com/HWzLBbtdfT
— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) December 23, 2022
Fans are speculating that Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 are two of those games, with Bethesda also confirmed to be working on Fallout 5, Redfall and an Indiana Jones title.
Earlier this year, Bethesda announced it would be delaying both Starfield and Redfall to give players “the best, most polished versions of them”. Starfield was due out November 2022 and Redfall was meant to be released Summer 2022. Both games are now due for release in the first half of 2023 with Microsoft gaming CEO Phil Spencer saying the delays were “the right thing to do.”
Elder Scrolls 6 is due for release after Starfield, with Redfall following after that.
In other news, a collective of gamers have also taken legal action against Microsoft in the hopes of stopping its takeover of Activision.
The ten gamers claim that the acquisition will unfairly reduce competition in the video games market.
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