Image via Bethesda

It will come as no surprise to anyone to say that Microsoft has no shortage of coin in their pockets. Before shedding out a dump truck full of cash on Activision Blizzard, the large profile acquisition they made was for Zenimax Media, which came included with Bethesda. Here is how much Microsoft paid to get Bethesda under the Xbox umbrella.

To acquire Bethesda and Zenimax Media, Microsoft paid $seven.5 billion. This bargain was finalized on March 9, 2022, giving Xbox total access to The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Dishonored, and other Bethesda IPs. The development studios included in the deal are Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane, Tango Gameworks, ZeniMax Online Studios, MachineGames, Blastoff Domestic dog, and Roundhouse Studios.

While all Bethesda backdrop now belong to Xbox, Microsoft has honored by deals made before the acquisition. These include Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo being PlayStation exclusive games and previously released games like Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Five: Skyrim withal getting support on other platforms. Even so, upcoming releases like Starfield will be console exclusive to the Microsoft brand. We don't know for sure if that'due south also going to be the example with Activision Blizzard, but it would certainly stand to reason given what's come out subsequently the Bethesda deal.