Does this mean bethesda aren't going to be Microsoft exclusive?

[Dangisuckatgamin]

Questions already been answered a ton now on the thread. But honestly don’t see them making fallout and such full exclusives. But guess time will tell, It won’t  hurt my feeling to  wait for patched games by them if they are timed exclusives though.  Who wants to buy their buggy games day one now anyway?

4 hours ago, DaivRules said:

That’s still a choice. 
 

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Bethesda titles start Microsoft exclusive, but eventually make their way to Playstation. Launch exclusives mostly. They’re going to be leaving a big chunk of long term cash on the table if they stick with the exclusivity gimmick after being multi platform all these years. 
 

Agree with you 100%. Would totally crush sale potential. Really don’t know many Xbox players who play anything but fps like Halo, Gears of War, and COD Anyway. Of course pc is a different story for Microsoft but they can’t make all the budget back on one platform.

Edited September 20, 2021 by Dangisuckatgamin

[BlueDragonRR]

Probably be a case-by-case scenario. Their core games might be timed exclusives or could just be all exclusive. I don't think Microsoft is willing to say definitively yet since the current gen has been slowed down drastically time-wise. They would be losing potential revenue going the exclusivity route but Microsoft does need exclusives and Bethesda is good enough to do that for them. 

[pavelbagirov]

5 hours ago, Viper said:

I'm expecting TES6 and Fallout 5 to be on Xbox and PC. However, I think some "smaller" titles such as maybe DOOM 3 and Wolfenstein 3 might be on PlayStation. It's hard for me to imagine that Xbox is going to alienate the entirety of the established PlayStation fanbase on EVERYTHING. Doing it to titles like Starfield, TES and Fallout gives them the proper straight punch to balls that they need while things like DOOM, Wolfenstein and maybe Dishonored 3 can grab them extra funds by also laying them out on PlayStation. 

Why everything? Sony have all biggest marvel games now and Xbox not 

[TWOLF2016]

I dont care I still wont buy an xbox - i can't even keep up with the playstation games coming out.

[AJ_-_808]

1 hour ago, OmegaRejectz said:

 

Shouldn't be any doubt. Why would any Bethesda titles release on PlayStation now?

 

Doubt caused by mixed and inconclusive messages we've gotten from company officials.

 

Depends on what works best for their (current) business model. 

 

Depends on if they want to do the right thing for players in general regarding long-time multi platform games or if they want to corner the market on Bethesda properties.  Also depends on how much of a PR headache they're willing to put up with 

 

For me personally, I have a mountain high backlog. I can live without the next fallout or elder scrolls

[Salt_AU]

I honestly think that Microsoft aren't entirely sure themselves. There is a long road ahead yet, they will have to see how the viability of Game Pass turns out for them, they have got to be banking on a LOT of PlayStation and Nintendo users switching across or purchasing an Xbox and that isn't a given.  If Game Pass isn't gaining traction and they're losing money they will change their tune real quick. Many Xbox fans spout the line that Microsoft have an almost endless supply of money but they didn't get that money by losing it.

 

My prediction is that Starfield and their other big budget AAA titles that are day one on Game Pass will release with a lot of micro transactions.  Think Fallout 76's Bethesda cash shop.  Xbox players may think, I pretty much got the game for 'free' so why not spend money on micro transactions.  Micro transactions on Game Pass are a given because otherwise releasing AAA titles day one just won't be viable. 

 

Another line you often see is "Microsoft didn't spend all of that money to release it on PlayStation". They own Bethesda, releasing their games on multi platforms will STILL make them a tonne of money, I'd wager more money than by making them exclusive to a console that continues to sell less than their opposition.  The Elder Scrolls, DOOM, Wolfenstein, Fallout will be no different.  Those IPs are simply to big, the sales potential that they will lose by not releasing on PlayStation or Nintendo will far outweigh the customers they attempt to pick up.

 

If it all goes pear shaped then Microsoft will release Bethesda titles on other platforms, perhaps time delayed releases.  As I said there is a long way to go yet before they know for certain exactly what they will do with future Bethesda titles. They've banked on Game Pass and the incoming micro transactions, time will tell what happens.

[MeltedDreams1]

Ofc not. Starfield is confirmed to be Xbox/ PC only. As others mentiioned, Sony got bunch of games (Ghostwire/Deathloop) because the delas for these were made before Bethesda acquisition. They apparently even tried to get Starfield as timed exclusive but failed.

 

With that said, Phil Spencer said that he is open to add Game Pass to any platform. It's just that Sony heads are weird and won't agree with such a thing on PlayStation... at least for now.

Edited September 20, 2021 by MeltedDreams1

[PhantomFear94]

TL;DR Short answer, no - unless they are games already announced on PS and are being 'honored', evidence suggests new Bethesda games will be Xbox exclusive.

 

Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo had 1-year PS exclusivity contracts before the Microsoft acquisition. Moving forward I believe Bethesda games are highly likely to be Xbox-exclusive, with GhostWire: Tokyo being the last Bethesda games on PS. 

 

Generally speaking, Xbox seem to honor games announced pre-acquisition on the systems they were announced on, but anything new - or anything which didn't have confirmed systems - are exclusive (it seems safe to deduce this based off what is announced)

 

Example 1 - Psychonauts 2 was released on Xbox One and PS4 (because this was what they had announced pre-acquisition) but for the new consoles it's only on Xbox Series X|S, not PS5. So the game isn't exclusive to honor what was confirmed at the time, but it is 'ninth-gen' exclusive (confusing, I know). Another example is Wasteland 3, which was also announced pre-acquisition, and also on both Xbox One and PS4. If an optimised version comes out, I'd bet it'll only be on Xbox Series X|S.

 

Example 2 - Hellblade II, Starfield and Redfall are confirmed Xbox exclusives (Starfield was announced pre-acquisition, but no systems were confirmed). Indiana Jones and The Outer Worlds II are very heavily rumoured to be, and would confirm my hypothesis.  

 

Candidly, I think this is the fairest thing they can do and that this is very reasonable. I'm actually surprised they didn't buy-out the exclusivity contract considering how much money they spent, so Deathloop/GhostWire: Tokyo would at least launch on both. 

 

P.S. It will be interesting to see with franchises such as TES/Fallout, which have several entries on other systems and die-hard fans on PS in a decade-spanning series. I can't begin to imagine the backlash if TES6 is only on Xbox...I can see Xbox doing some form of deal to allow the game to come to PS after a year, or something (both for PR and $$$$). 

 

 

Edited September 20, 2021 by PhantomFear94

[DrBloodmoney]

In the long term, it's going to come down to how the first few games perform.

 

Microsoft made a huge financial play by buying Bethesda, and they will need to maximise the financial return on that investment to satisfy the shareholders.

 

My guess is that the first wave of new games from Bethesda (and Bethesda owned studios) will be full-exclusive, but the subsequent games exclusivity will be tied to the financial impact that first wave shows.

 

If Microsoft sees a significant uptick in Xbox sales (or Gamepass subscriptions) based on those exclusives, then I would imagine that will cement the idea of full exclusivity going forward. However, if that uptick doesn't happen (or is marginal enough that putting the games out on Playstation makes financial sense) then I would expect future games to be timed-exclusive, with Playstation versions following a year or so after initial Xbox release.

 

In the end, the acquisition is a costly one, and needs the best return on investment. Microsoft isn't stupid - and they are not tribal when it comes to cashflow. If Playstation releases are more financially beneficial in the long run, then that's what will happen. If it makes more sense to keep them exclusive, that will happen.

Edited September 20, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[DJ__Beatroot]

The bottom line is money.  Microsoft likes money.  To only release games on the Xbox or PC and exclude anything being released on PSN is shooting yourself in the foot regarding revenue.  Plus, if ESO6 was not released for PSN, the revenue from the ESO Plus subs would also be lost.

[Viper]

8 hours ago, pavelbagirov said:

Why everything? Sony have all biggest marvel games now and Xbox not 

Everything as in, every game under Zenimax that also has an established PlayStation fanbase. 

[craig_obviously]

as far as Starfield being exclusive or not... matters not... Starfield for the most part is comprised of tidbits of info and conjecture and mostly player anticipation and hope... which could end of being a turd like Fallout 76 was.. I mean it is Bethesda afterall

[Cleggworth]

The fact they haven't said one way or another tells me it can still go either way. Its a business decision and they don't have enough data to make that call yet.

 

I'm probably delusional but I bet we'll see it all eventually even if its years later. The Starfield reveal was touted as releasing exclusively on xbox and pc on 11.11.22. My initial thought there was timed exclusive, just say console exclusive if that's what you mean. It probably still will be but there's a deliberate out in the wording as far as I'm concerned

[AJ_Radio]

I will never return to Xbox. Most of everything that they have is readily available on PC, because obviously, Microsoft has control over both.

 

While I haven't exactly praised Sony these past couple years for their stupid decision making, I have to give them some credit because they still offer good exclusives, even if they're just timed exclusives at this point.

 

Microsoft hasn't offered a solid library since the Xbox 360 days. Their long and storied history of their treatment of franchises shouldn't go unnoticed either. The bottom line? Money. Microsoft is one of the most powerful and influential companies out there, their intention of getting acquisitions is obvious.

[domp4484]

xbox doesnt care about exclusives. They can say whatever they want but i dont believe them 

[I-Reaped-U]

What I find really crazy is that MS got their ass handed to them last gen by the PS4. Who was to blame for its failure? Phil Spencer. How did MS reward him for his massive failure? They gave him $7 billion to buy his way out of his massive fuck up and royally screw over a massive portion of the gaming community. Unreal. 

[LabyrinthWorm]

Exclusives are great - it is what sets consoles apart from each other, but so many decisions in these big corporations are so anti-consumer. I've been playing Elder Scrolls since Oblivion (actually played Morrowind when I had an OG Xbox), but I've been int he PS ecosystem since PS1, and it's where I choose to game now. It's just unfortunate that a franchise that's literally joked about being on refrigerators and Alexa will only be playable through Microsoft venues. It seems wild - I get they paid an enormous amount of money, but you're blocking out customers like myself that will not be buying the newest ES.