In this episode with special guest Zhenya Oganian (Founder & CEO, ESCS), we discuss the modular nature of game development, games outsourcing esports and competitive services, Microsoft doubling down on gaming with a $7.5 billion acquisition of Zenimax / Bethesda, Playstation 5 potentially charging $10 more for their games, and so much more!
Episode #98: Microsoft – Bethesda Acquisition, PS5 Game Price Hike, Competitive Gaming For All
This week there was a lot of new information out there. I think the most important one is definitely the acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft. Both sides will greatly benefit from this deal. Microsoft gets a huge developer that is loved by many and they get to add it to their Xbox Game Pass subscription. Bethesda gets access to Microsoft’s entire arsenal. As a huge Elder Scrolls Fan, I am excited to see how this new partnership will affect future games from Bethesda. I agree that having Microsoft being able to handle the nitty gritty work like socialization, Bethesda can focus on gameplay and story telling which are the core parts of their games. Being able to freelance those areas of a game could be HUGE. Having a company like Microsoft behind you can truly uncap their potential which could of being hidden by them standing alone.
Zenimax getting bought by Microsoft is a big boost to compete with Sony. What Xbox lacks is exclusive games and by buying Zenimax, you will most likely see new games exclusive for Xbox like what Sony did with Final Fantasy VII. When it comes to Sony possibly charging $10 more on games, I am not shocked about it. It’s been so long that games cost $60 and with a new console coming out you would think that the price for games will rise. Every other object you may think of has raised in price due to inflation and it is surprising that video games have never changed price. If the price does not change now it will probably change in the next year or two.