Microsoft has confirmed that “some new titles” from Bethesda and parent company Zenimax Studios will be “exclusive to Xbox and PC”.
There’s no qualifier of timed exclusivity here. There’s no mention of which games.
“This is the next step in building an industry-leading first party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community,” Xbox boss Phil Spencer wrote today in an Xbox Wire post to mark the historic $7.5bn deal being finalised.
“With the addition of the Bethesda creative teams, gamers should know that Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players.”
Spencer does not specify the kinds of games he is talking about when discussing full PC and Xbox exclusivity. Does he mean the biggest titles in Bethesda’s portfolio, such as the next instalment in the Elder Scrolls series and upcoming new franchise Starfield? Will those games really skip PlayStation, and the revenues to be gained from selling huge franchises there? Or is he talking of smaller projects – new entries in series such as Dishonored or Prey? Time will tell.