Bethesda Softworks founder Christopher Weaver–who no longer works at the game company–has shared his thoughts on Microsoft’s $7.5 billion buyout of Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax. Speaking to Inverse, Weaver said he sees Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda as being similar to the company’s buyout of Bungie.
Microsoft famously acquired Bungie in 2000, and its new game, Halo: Combat Evolved, proved to be a very big success and has since become synonymous with Xbox. Bungie and Microsoft later split, but Halo remains one of Microsoft’s crown jewels.
If Microsoft can successfully integrate Bethesda into Microsoft, this could be a “brilliant counter-move against Sony,” Weaver said of the longstanding rivalry between the two companies.
“The acquisition of Bungie acted as an important trigger for the success of the early Xbox. Depending upon how soon Bethesda can prime the Microsoft pipeline, I suspect Microsoft is looking at their playbook and looking to repeat one of its ‘best moves,'” Weaver told the site. “If the strategy works, it will be a brilliant counter-move against Sony. Users from around the world will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this deal. I wish them well.”
Weaver also spoke about how he believes Microsoft purposefully timed its announcement of the Bethesda deal to be close to the recent PS5 news.
“Properly managed, consolidation can provide a powerful mechanism for groups to share experience and ‘best practices,'” he said. “I do not think it is any accident that this announcement occurred so close to Sony’s PS5 announcement. There are only a limited number of proven creators of AAA. What Microsoft owns, Sony cannot get. There are many economies of scale that consolidation between the right partners has the capacity to provide, but the ultimate test will be evidenced by the quality of products produced over time.”
The full interview at Inverse touches on a number of other interesting subjects–go read it here. And for more on the buyout, check out GameSpot’s stories below.
