Microsoft officially welcomes Bethesda to the Xbox family, some new titles to be Xbox exclusive

The Xbox first-party studios family now encompasses 23 different studios.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

What you need to know

We recentlylearnedthat the deal for Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company ofBethesda Softworks, had been approved by the EU. Now, the deal is completely done and Bethesda has joined Xbox, bringing Xbox to 23 first-party studios across Xbox Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks. To celebrate the occasion, Bethesda shared a video on the team’s journey to where it is now, which you can see below.

In a statement onXbox Wire, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer shared that moving forward, some of Bethesda’s games will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players, though exact titles were not named, so it’s unclear if this refers to games likeStarfieldor yet-unknown games.

Additionally, Spencer shared that more Bethesda games will be joiningXbox Game Passin the near future. Spencer also took time to honor the memory of ZeniMax Media co-founder Robert A. Altman, whorecently passed away.

Pete Hines, SVP of Marketing at Bethesda Softworks, also shared some thoughts on the closure of the deal,statingthat there will not be any “landmark announcements” for now but that the teams are just “getting started together.”

Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold in one

Xbox Game Pass gives you access to over 200 games for one monthly fee. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate also adds Xbox Live Gold to the package so you can play online with your friends. You also get access to EA Play.

Xbox Series X/S

Main

Get the Windows Central Newsletter

All the latest news, reviews, and guides for Windows and Xbox diehards.

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.