Microsoft to Purchase ZOS

Sylvermynx

Nulami wrote: »

Ackwalan wrote: »

The creative team for ZOS won't change. They may go in a different direction, but that's normal. Other parts of ZOS, the parts that are in a support role will get moved around or eliminated. Position like QA and server maintenance will become redundant and fall under the umbrella for what Microsoft already has in place. Probably the first place the players will is a change is in the forums. Forum management is normally maintained by a 3rd party contractors and Microsoft will want to use whichever contractor they use now. 2021 game plan won't change much,, we will see some new names, but the next chapter for 2021 is already will on it's way. Of course all this is just conjecture on my part and Microsoft could chop up ZOS and sell it for lunch money.

Yeah. Expect the Community Team to be either "reassigned" or "eliminated".

Oh good! No more crap vanilla forum software!

morrowjen

First RBG dies. Now this. I've loved TES forever but it is AND always will be a PC game. The moment it becomes console first is the moment it dies.

JD2013

To all those thinking this may be the death of ESO/TESVI etc:

Microsoft bought Obsidian. Avowed is coming.

Microsoft is bringing back Fable.

It seems like, if anything, Microsoft is lining up a host of RPG's and RPG companies.

morrowjen

JD2013 wrote: »

To all those thinking this may be the death of ESO/TESVI etc:

Microsoft bought Obsidian. Avowed is coming.

Microsoft is bringing back Fable.

It seems like, if anything, Microsoft is lining up a host of RPG's and RPG companies.

I hope you're right but for TES in particular this is shaky ground. Those games weren't defined by being fundamentally PC games. TES is. Modding and a PC-first design is what makes TES games. You change that and you break the franchise. If TES is designed with a console first mindset it will fail. How the game will be ported should be the last thought on their minds not the first.

Fallout is similar territory. These are games that PC users and modders make great. They aren't great on their own (they are good but they'd fall into a larger pack of good but ultimately throwaway games without user generated content).

Yistaan

morrowjen wrote: »

Modding and a PC-first design is what makes TES games. You change that and you break the franchise.

As someone who has played PC games for 30 years since the early 1990s back when we had DOS (played the old Ultima series which predated Elder Scrolls by over a decade), Elder Scrolls never struck me as dependent on mods the way say, Neverwinter Nights games or Minecraft or Terraria were. I've played Elder Scrolls games mod free (without fan mods, but still including official DLC and expansions) and still had a complete experience. Mods weren't even an Elder Scrolls thing until Morrowind, having existed a decade before that (Arena, Daggerfall, Redguard, and Battlespire) without any significant mods.

Greystag

Does this mean Rober A. Altman is gone?

alainjbrennanb16_ESO

Shadowspawn42 wrote: »

What will this mean for TES6? Cause I’m not sure about you guys, but that’s what I really care about.

might not happen microsoft has its own version of elder scrolls coming out its call avowed

JTD

Azure pls

Ashtaris

vestahls wrote: »

Don't even care about ESO anymore, but RIPerrony TES6

Why would you say that? TES6 is probably the most anticipated sequel in years for the Elder Scrolls community. Do you really think that Microsoft would intentionally kill a potential gaming hit? I don’t think so. If nothing else, I see them pouring more money into the franchise as it would be a big feather in their cap for a Xbox and PC release.

Danikat

Where are people getting the idea that Microsoft doesn't care about PC gaming?

For a start Microsoft is not exactly an unknown player in the PC market, they've made a few bits of software you may have heard of, including an OS lots of gamers stick with even if they'd prefer something else, because it's often the only one PC games are designed to be compatible with. I can't see Microsoft wanting to change that, they may not make the hardware but gaming PCs are still a big market for them.

But on top of that in recent years they've been making a push to make sure all their 1st party games are available on both PC and Xbox. That's actually been one of the criticisms of the new Xbox: that if you have a decent PC there's not much point getting and Xbox because you can play all the games that would have ordinarily been exclusives on your computer.

BisDasBlutGefriert

Hmmm....as of right now, my shares in Microsoft went up $2.10/share = 1.04%. Which means almost nothing right now, but definitely going to be keeping a closer eye on them.

Slyclone

I will be watching this closely. It brings great sadness that we are letting the world swallow itself whole over artificial worth and acute sensitivity to almost everything said.

I want to say sorry in advance to the team at ZOS, in case this project goes PG. Glad to support until then.

I am a tiny fraction of your support base, but you are a huge part of my life and I hope you guys fight for the players' interests, and push this product's overall quality in a sensible manner going forward.

Mythreindeer

Given how big the gaming industry has become, especially in the last 10 years, I suppose it was inevitable that very deep pockets would buy this company. Having been the victim (as a player) of really good games that went to complete s*** after buyouts by large Asian based companies, well one very large country in particular, I can see the Microsoft buyout as the best of possible alternatives. We'll see...

KoultouraS

If I don't see some "heads rolling" , meaning
mostly the "heads" of those that have been repeatedly reported
underperforming
such as:
a) Combat mechanics/balancing team
b) Bug fixing / Infrastracture - server mentainance team
c) Community management.
then this is not something that I receive as a nice development.

InaMoonlight

7,4 bil? That could clear 10% of Puerto Rico's debt!

Grats guys!

...But don't leave us now, you hear!

(Edit: but yeah, deep down, I think you should'a held onto it, and just used the proceeds to fix and grow, in ten years if all goes right, the company will be worth ten times more, gotta gratz MS on a good buy )

DTStormfox

7,4 billion is nothing, considering the fact that the gaming market is still growing.

I believe this move is, on one hand, beneficial for Microsoft: enriching their gaming portfolio.
On the other hand, this will allow ZeniMax Media access to resources (including, but not exclusively, human, financial and technological resources) that would have required a significant private investments.

GenjiraX

Good. Maybe I'll finally be able to select a character on PC with my Xbox controller.

joerginger

Perhaps ZOS will now get access to actual database technology!

linuxlady

Players who play on steam through Linux may well be concerned

Casdha

Actual takeover won't happen until 2022 at the earliest maybe 2023 to see changes, so my predictions for TES games:

Steam will not see the launch of TES:6 (maybe a year later kind of like Outer Worlds) (same with Starfield)

TES:6 will not release until 2023, maybe late 2022 at the earliest (by that time next gen console sales would determine if PS5 gets it or at least has to wait on a launch exclusive window) (Remember DLCs had that on TES:5, Dragonborn even had 3 month exclusive for 360 over PC and PS3)

ESO: A lot of the names you have known here will find other jobs/retire before the takeover

ESO: the rest depends on how well it is doing by the time TES:6 launches.

ZOS_Volpe

Greetings,

We've removed some comments as they were bashing and supported spreading misinformation. Please make sure to keep commentary constructive and adhere to our Community Rules.

Thank you for your understanding

esotoon

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

JinMori wrote: »

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

Shadowspawn42 wrote: »

What will this mean for TES6? Cause I’m not sure about you guys, but that’s what I really care about.

might not happen microsoft has its own version of elder scrolls coming out its call avowed

Wth are you even talking about? You think microsoft would even think of abandoning a title as successful as tes because they have avowed? Which is from obsidian, which isn't even a competitor because they are both owned by microsoft?

Do you even think before you speak?

please dont get aggressive, i just said might not, for you to get abusive was not need, microsoft did say they wanted to take on tes in one press breifing and again i will say the same thing and please dont go of on one, it might not happen and if it does it wont be for a while

If you think about it logically, the same could be said for a lot of Zenimax Media's games.

Avowed = Skyrim
Halo = Doom/Wolfenstein
Minecraft = Fallout 76
Outer Worlds = Fallout

So why would Microsoft bother buying them if following your logic, they will be killing off Zenimax Media's biggest titles just because they are similar to games they already have in their stable or under development?

However, if you think about it, these games aren't actually competing with each other. Take TES VI as an example:

Lets assume Avowed turns out to be the best RPG ever. How will that affect sales? TES is one of, if not *the* most beloved RPG franchises ever, so TES fans are going to be buying TES VI, no matter what. Fans of RPGs are going to be buying TES VI too, because that's the genre they enjoy, so they will buy all the top RPG titles. And new players, who may not have played TES before, will have heard of it through popular culture for years, and will see the hype for it, so they too will be buying it. So TES VI is safe.

TES VI is being designed to be playable for AT LEAST 10 years. This means that there probably won't be a TES VII for at least that much time after the launch of VI. So, again, lets say Avowed turns out to be the most amazing game ever and blows TES VI out of the water in terms of reviews. Bethesda now have 10 year to work on TES VI and make it better, and 10 years to make a new and improved TES VII. When TES VII launches, sales might be hurt by Avowed at that point, but there will still be a heck of a lot of people buying it, or thinking of buying it based on Bethesda's past glories.

If at that point TES VII turns out to be a dud, whilst Avowed (now on Avowed 2 or 3), continue to wow, this is when you may see a drop in sales and rumblings of dropping the franchise. But frankly, if Bethesda drop the ball on TES VI and VII after what would then be 20+ years of development time since Skyrim, perhaps the franchise deserves to be dropped.

alainjbrennanb16_ESO

esotoon wrote: »

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

JinMori wrote: »

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

Shadowspawn42 wrote: »

What will this mean for TES6? Cause I’m not sure about you guys, but that’s what I really care about.

might not happen microsoft has its own version of elder scrolls coming out its call avowed

Wth are you even talking about? You think microsoft would even think of abandoning a title as successful as tes because they have avowed? Which is from obsidian, which isn't even a competitor because they are both owned by microsoft?

Do you even think before you speak?

please dont get aggressive, i just said might not, for you to get abusive was not need, microsoft did say they wanted to take on tes in one press breifing and again i will say the same thing and please dont go of on one, it might not happen and if it does it wont be for a while

If you think about it logically, the same could be said for a lot of Zenimax Media's games.

Avowed = Skyrim
Halo = Doom/Wolfenstein
Minecraft = Fallout 76
Outer Worlds = Fallout

So why would Microsoft bother buying them if following your logic, they will be killing off Zenimax Media's biggest titles just because they are similar to games they already have in their stable or under development?

However, if you think about it, these games aren't actually competing with each other. Take TES VI as an example:

Lets assume Avowed turns out to be the best RPG ever. How will that affect sales? TES is one of, if not *the* most beloved RPG franchises ever, so TES fans are going to be buying TES VI, no matter what. Fans of RPGs are going to be buying TES VI too, because that's the genre they enjoy, so they will buy all the top RPG titles. And new players, who may not have played TES before, will have heard of it through popular culture for years, and will see the hype for it, so they too will be buying it. So TES VI is safe.

TES VI is being designed to be playable for AT LEAST 10 years. This means that there probably won't be a TES VII for at least that much time after the launch of VI. So, again, lets say Avowed turns out to be the most amazing game ever and blows TES VI out of the water in terms of reviews. Bethesda now have 10 year to work on TES VI and make it better, and 10 years to make a new and improved TES VII. When TES VII launches, sales might be hurt by Avowed at that point, but there will still be a heck of a lot of people buying it, or thinking of buying it based on Bethesda's past glories.

If at that point TES VII turns out to be a dud, whilst Avowed (now on Avowed 2 or 3), continue to wow, this is when you may see a drop in sales and rumblings of dropping the franchise. But frankly, if Bethesda drop the ball on TES VI and VII after what would then be 20+ years of development time since Skyrim, perhaps the franchise deserves to be dropped.

the reason i said might avowed is slated for 2022 release they wont relase both that and tes 6 at the same time, they wont release 2 games around the same thing, avowed is in the pillars of enternity universe and is a new ip so they wont want to take th shine of it, so they will probs put it on the bk burner and i did say might not

Zorgon_The_Revenged

goldenarcher1 wrote: »

Oh boy.

esotoon

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

the reason i said might avowed is slated for 2022 release they wont relase both that and tes 6 at the same time, they wont release 2 games around the same thing, avowed is in the pillars of enternity universe and is a new ip so they wont want to take th shine of it, so they will probs put it on the bk burner and i did say might not

TES VI won’t be coming out until Probably at least 2024. They have to release Starfield first. Given the Covid situation and the fact we haven’t seen anything of Starfield this year, the earliest it will be released is the end of 2021, but much more likely end of 2022. TES VI was much further behind development wise than Starfield was, so again, I don’t honestly see that coming until at least 2 years after Starfield.

zaria

Zorgon_The_Revenged wrote: »

goldenarcher1 wrote: »

Oh boy.

Very nice but more DPS is always better.

Granted it not very sustainable fishing.

Phanex

Sooo...TES will be owned by Microsoft....

They own WoW....

Would they merge the two contents together somehow I wonder?

Like WoW is on the other side of the world and TES is on the other?

I don't play wow much/never so not sure if their content is world encompassing or just contents like TESO.

esotoon

Phanex wrote: »

Sooo...TES will be owned by Microsoft....

They own WoW....

They Do?

You might want to tell Activision Blizzard that, I think they'd get a shock!

JinMori

esotoon wrote: »

alainjbrennanb16_ESO wrote: »

the reason i said might avowed is slated for 2022 release they wont relase both that and tes 6 at the same time, they wont release 2 games around the same thing, avowed is in the pillars of enternity universe and is a new ip so they wont want to take th shine of it, so they will probs put it on the bk burner and i did say might not

TES VI won’t be coming out until Probably at least 2024. They have to release Starfield first. Given the Covid situation and the fact we haven’t seen anything of Starfield this year, the earliest it will be released is the end of 2021, but much more likely end of 2022. TES VI was much further behind development wise than Starfield was, so again, I don’t honestly see that coming until at least 2 years after Starfield.

That's not even what he or she said originally.

"might not happen microsoft has its own version of elder scrolls coming out its call avowed"

This is what was said, which by the wording implies might not happen completely, not it might be put on the back to let avowed shine.

This is why i made my comment, because it's ridiculous to think that Microsoft would ever do something as monumentally dumb as not developing one of the most successful rpg franchises in the world.

It's just ridiculous to ever think that could happen. That's why i made the snarky reply.

ParaViking

Companies get bought and sold all the time. With the market and economy the way it is stuff happens... My industry is shifting all the time... Aerospace... You can imagine how the world is shifting these days...

My company got purchased by a bigger company 14 years ago. I moved to another division about 10 years ago. A few months ago they sold the company I use to work for... Many friends, and old collogues... C'ya!

All the parties are in good shape doing business making money.

Microsoft didn't spend 7.5B to wreck it... Just looked like a good investment and is probably is good for their portfolio.

Who knows... Microsoft may buy some of Disney's stuff... Probably not but who knows!