Following the news that Bethesda is being acquired by Microsoft, VP Pete Hines weighed in on why this move was the right one for them to make. Hines also took the opportunity to assuage any fan concerns over Bethesda changing to fit into its new home.
Hines has been with Bethesda for just over 20 years. Since he joined the studio, Bethesda has undergone many changes, including evolutions of in-house leadership, new IPs, and shifting visions. He has also witnessed mind-numbing growth from Bethesda’s humble beginnings.
The news of the acquisition has been wholly seen as a positive within the gaming community, though there have been concerns about Bethesda’s future with PlayStation. While a multiplatform release for Bethesda’s biggest games are still a real possibility, as seen here with Phil Spencer’s recent commentary, some have voiced concern over Bethesda changing too much.
“The world, our industry, and our company has changed a lot in the 34 years since Bethesda Softworks was first founded,” said Hines in a recent blog post. “Today, it changed again. And I know that brings up questions.
“But the key point is we’re still Bethesda. We’re still working on the same games we were yesterday, made by the same studios we’ve worked with for years, and those games will be published by us.”
According to Hines, the change coming out of this acquisition is something that was the right move for them to make, “because it allows us to make even better games going forward. Microsoft is an incredible partner and offers access to resources that will make us a better publisher and developer. We believe that means better games for you to play. Simply put – we believe that change is an important part of getting better. We believe in pushing ourselves to be better. To innovate. To grow.”
Bethesda also has a long working history with Microsoft and the two companies, according to the VP, share many of the same core values. As Bethesda shifted from a PC-only developer to working with consoles through the years, this acquisition will give the studio even more resources, a bigger team, and more support for continuing on our favorite stories while creating new ones at the same time.
More details about this acquisition are coming in the next few months, but with Xbox being primarily focused on services for next gen rather than hardware sales, this could be a really good thing for all. The new deal is set to close in the second fiscal year for 2021.
[Source: Bethesda]
Source: Game Informer
