While Divesting A Handful Of Studios, Microsoft Overhauls Bethesda To Focus On Fallout/Elder Scrolls/Doom/Wolfenstein/Quake

Currently on XBOX’s radar is finding a direct route for success to bring to the platform. This was a core tenet as stated in the ‘Next 100 Days’ memo penned by Ahsa Sharma & Matt Booty. As a result, multiple developers are to exit XBOX Game Studios. Both Undead Labs & Ninja Theory are to be sold off and Compulsion Games & Double Fine Productions will be independent once again.

Arkane is also part of that conversation. In one development from The Verge, it was shared that the development for Marvel’s Blade has bloated enough for Microsoft to shop the French game studio as well. Thankfully, Sharma in the recent ‘Resetting XBOX’ memo, she verified that already-announced projects are to remain in development unaffected by the decision.

So what is the next step for XBOX Game Studios? Well at Bethesda, Microsoft is planning to overhaul Bethesda to focus on its tentpole IPs, says Bloomberg. We’ve seen this with Warner Bros. Games in the past. In the report, it is shared that the publisher will invest its resources in franchises: Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Wolfenstein, and Quake.

This likely plays into part with another report from Bloomberg this week. It was revealed that Microsoft plans for focus its ‘case-by-case’ approach for in-house releases through factors: live-service multiplayer will be intended for multiplatform and its platform driving experiences are to remain exclusive to XBOX consoles.

The decision to focus on definitive IPs at Bethesda also corroborates with one report in June. It was indicated by The Information that Microsoft is open to forming XBOX as its own venture. The decision would play into its flagship franchises speeding development over the current formula it operates under. You can read the full report by heading here.

Are you excited with this decision for Bethesda by Microsoft?

Source: Bloomberg