What does the future hold for The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout and other games? 

5 big questions about Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda

Microsoft now owns The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom, Wolfenstein, and Dishonored. Following its $7.5 billion acquistion of Bethesda, the firm is suddenly a PC game development giant made up of 23 studios.

What will Microsoft do with so many teams? We have a lot of questions. Here are the biggest...

Microsoft has owned developer Obsidian for a while, and now the firm has bought Bethesda, there's a renewed desire from gamers for Fallout: New Vegas 2. Could the two studios join forces to make the much requested RPG sequel? 

1. Will Microsoft's studios stick to their own games, or will they collaborate?

Microsoft probably didn't buy all of these studios to change how they work day to day. Bethesda Softworks will continue to build huge RPGs without Phil Spencer leaning over Todd Howard's shoulder. 

2. How hands-on will Microsoft be?

Microsoft will honor Bethesda's timed exlusivity deals with Sony for Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo. After these games are out on PlayStation though, all bets are off. Could space RPG Starfield be a PC and Xbox exclusive and skip PS5 altogether?

3. What will be the first game to test Microsoft's "case-by-case" policy? 

At $10 a month, Game Pass is a great deal, and it's going to be even better value when future Bethesda games are added to it. But do we want subscription services to take over PC gaming when publishers can remove games from libraries as and when they see fit?

4. Will Game Pass devour PC gaming?

Outside of built-in tools like Halo's Forge editor, modern Microsoft has been unfriendly to modding. Mods are so important to the identity of Bethesda RPGs like Skyrim, so hopefully Microsoft allows them for The Elder Scrolls 6.

5. Should we be worried about modding?

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