Visitors queue to play the video game Fallout 76, developed and published by Bethesda Softworks, during the Paris Games Week on October 27, 2018.
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LONDON — The European Union approved Microsoft’s $7.5 billion acquisition of ZeniMax, the parent company of iconic video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.
The European Commission — the executive body of the EU — made the decision to clear the Microsoft-ZeniMax deal on Friday, according to an update on its merger case register. The Commission says it found no competition concerns resulting from the takeover.
Microsoft announced it would buy ZeniMax in September. It’s the biggest gaming acquisition in Microsoft’s history, eclipsing the $2.5 billion the firm paid for Minecraft developer Mojang in 2014.
Bethesda is a household name in the video game industry, known for publishing a raft of successful game franchises including Fallout, The Elder Scrolls and Doom. Microsoft plans to push its subscription offering, Xbox Game Pass, by bringing Bethesda’s games to its extensive library of titles.
