Since the recently announced Microsoft and ZeniMax Media deal isn’t finalized as of yet, there are still numerous facets that remain unclear. Of course, the big one centers on whether or not future Bethesda-published titles will migrate to platforms other than Xbox. Though Microsoft executives continue to dance around the meat of the question, it seems they have no intention of outright stopping Bethesda from developing multiplatform projects. There does exist one new wrinkle, however, a caveat that may still give Xbox the edge down the line. Apparently, the goal from Microsoft’s point of view is to ensure such titles offer better experiences on Xbox hardware.
Xbox CEO Tim Stuart expressed as much during the Jefferies Interactive Entertainment Virtual Conference late last week. Seeking Alpha transcribed the discussion, wherein Stuart noted that Microsoft wants Bethesda’s future games to either be “first or better or best” on their platforms. According the CEO,
What we’ll do in the long run is, we don’t have intentions of just pulling all of Bethesda content out of Sony or Nintendo or otherwise. But what we want is, we want that content, in the long run, to be either first or better or best or pick your differentiated experience, on our platforms. We will want Bethesda content to show up the best as—on our platforms.
He went on to explain that the point isn’t about exclusivity, per se. Microsoft’s objective is more geared towards offering players the best place to play. Stuart added, “…if it shows up best in Game Pass, that’s what we want to see, and we want to drive our Game Pass subscriber base through that Bethesda pipeline.”
The CEO ended this point of discussion by noting, “I’m not announcing pulling content from platforms one way or the other. But I suspect you’ll continue to see us shift towards a first or better or best approach on our platforms.”
Thus, Xbox boss Phil Spencer’s statement about decision-making coming down to a “case-by-case” basis will likely continue to hold firm. We’ll just have to wait and see how this all pans out long-term.
[Source: Seeking Alpha via Gematsu]