Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda is the most expensive in gaming history

Discover other purchases like the one made by Microsoft

The news about the acquisition of Bethesda and all of its studios for Microsoft have deeply shaken the gaming industry, and since then it has been confirmed as the most expensive merger in gaming history. The purchase was made for a value of US $ 7.5 billion.

The only case that comes close to that value was when the Activision Blizzard bought King for $ 5.9 billion in 2015. At the time, the acquisition was great news, not only for the high price that games like Bubble Witch Saga and Candy Crush, but to give the company a firm foothold in the world each time largest of the mobile games.

Another major acquisition by Microsoft at the time was in 2014, when it bought Minecraft for $ 2.5 billion. In the same year, Facebook acquired Oculus for $ 2 billion. In addition, several other acquisitions in the video game industry hovered around or below the $ 1 billion mark, making Microsoft’s latest acquisition much larger than most.

Purchase price was low, says analyst

According to DFC Intelligence, this significant acquisition will help strengthen its gaming business and help Microsoft regain a leading position in the industry. Although the price seems high for ZeniMax Media, DFC notes that this is a “surprisingly low price”.

The company has a wide range of classic IPs with significant long-term potential. However, Bethesda Softworks was struggling with some badly received releases, such as Fallout 76.

Overall, the acquisition is yet another sign that, while Xbox hardware cannot compete with the PlayStation brand in the short term, Microsoft is better equipped to focus on a long-term vision. Bethesda adds a large library of titles for game streaming and cloud streaming services on Xbox and PC.

Bethesda’s major franchises include the Fallout and Elder Scrolls RPG series. These are games that work well on the console and on the PC and include the main online components. These two franchises alone can be worth the purchase price.

Bethesda Softworks has two PlayStation 5 exclusives in development: Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop, but what comes next is a mystery to analysts and journalists. Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield are among Bethesda’s next most anticipated titles and the acquisition by Microsoft ensures that both titles are available on the Xbox Game Pass.