Microsoft owns Bethesda with European approval
The European Commission has approved Microsoft's $ 7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda developer for Doom and Fallout games.
The Microsoft deal was approved by the European Union without conditions, as it does not raise serious doubts about its compatibility with the common market.
The acquisition requires EU approval before Microsoft can close the Bethesda deal and bring future games to its Xbox Game Pass subscription.
With the addition of Bethesda sub-studios, the number of Microsoft Studios will be 23.
Bethesda owns studios such as Arkane's Dishonored, Wolfenstein's MachineGames, Doom's id Software, and Tango Gameworks from The Evil Within.
Microsoft appears to be planning to keep Bethesda operating separately, with its current leadership, after this approach worked with Mojang, LinkedIn and GitHub, which all continued to operate separately after Microsoft acquired it.
Microsoft originally announced plans to acquire Bethesda in September, promising to honor the PS5-exclusive commitments of Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo, with games such as The Elder Scrolls: Online still supported.
Microsoft is supposed to deal with future Bethesda games on a case-by-case basis, according to comments by Microsoft's chief of games, Phil Spencer, in September.
Microsoft might not even have to launch future Bethesda games exclusively on Xbox platforms, as just having those games on the first day via Xbox Game Pass might be enough to entice players to sign up.
Spencer has questioned the feasibility of exclusive gaming deals recently, and Microsoft's plans for Xbox platforms are largely focused on Xbox Game Pass and xCloud to broadcast games that reach millions of other people.
Microsoft is reportedly planning to outline its plans for Xbox later this month.
It is rumored that the Future of Games event may take place on March 23, and it could be a perfect opportunity for Microsoft to discuss the future of Bethesda and xCloud across iOS and its plans for Xbox Game Pass.