550°

Microsoft Plans To Merge ZeniMax Into A New Subsidiary Called 'Vault'

An EU Law document has revealed that Microsoft plans to merge ZeniMax into a new subsidiary called Vault.

rlow11207d ago

Does that translate to, "Vault of Money"???

Godmars2901207d ago

More like "pit of money" if the best they do from now on is Fallout 76.

MadLad1207d ago

Guess you forgot about every single release they made since Morrowind in 2002. Not to mention all of the other award winning devs they got in the acquisition.

King_Noctis1207d ago Show
demonseye1207d ago Show
Godmars2901207d ago Show
King_Noctis1207d ago Show
demonseye1207d ago Show
Atom6661206d ago

As well as Fallout 76 sold, it kind of was a pit (empty game) full of money.

But you can't ignore the revenue their big two generate. Before Cyberpunk, I believe Fallout 4 generated the most $$$ at launch than any game this gen. ESO actually has really high sub numbers. And games like Doom continue to do well.

Also, Days Gone did hit with a lot of bugs. It's why its score is way lower than it should be. Doesn't compare to a ES or Fallout, but let's not act like everyone is perfect except for those top few Sony titles.

Not sure how MS has a rep for bugs though? Online launch issues? Well that's been true of everyone (Sony included).

Godmars2901206d ago Show
S2Killinit1206d ago (Edited 1206d ago )

I think its a fitting name for cannabilizing the industry by buying multiplatform developers, making them exclusive to one console, then putting their games behind the paywall.

Vault, yep, that’s pretty much accurate.

Atom6661206d ago Show
+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 1206d ago
1207d ago
Orchard1207d ago

"puts the future of Bethesda releases on PS5 still largely up in the air"

Realistically, why would anyone genuinely believe Microsoft spent 7.5bn on this to release the games on PlayStation? The value is clearly in exclusivity.

Nyxus1207d ago

Because they can make more money that way. Same as they're doing with Minecraft. Not saying it's a guarantee, but it's not impossible either.

Sonyslave31207d ago

Dude xbox making money good money and plus ms already made enough cash to buy zenimax twice lol they dont need playstation or nintendo.

Nyxus1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

They may not need it but they want money right? Also, if they don't need the other platforms, why is Minecraft multiplatform?

Then there's also this: https://arstechnica.com/gam...

gamer78041207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

Minecraft was pre existing, I highly doubt new Bethesda games will come to PlayStation, maybe ESO will stay like Minecraft did

Tedakin1207d ago

Sony can "make more money" if they put their games on PC and Xbox too. Sony only supports Sony. Xbox supports Xbox, Windows and Steam, and even android with gamepass. Their reach is over 80% of the gaming market.

LucasRuinedChildhood1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

@Nyxus

You provided a good link. Bethesda's games being multiplatform would be the most ideal outcome, and their language indicates something close to this unless they're just all lying to make the acquisition easier to approve.

Microsoft's ultimate goal is for GamePass to be the Netflix of gaming and you need enough studios to create regular content for a service like that. That's the main reason they're buying Bethesda (loads of good studios and varied IPs, lots of good content). That's a vision that the higher ups were able to get behind, and that's why the Xbox division was given so much more money for this investment than the division currently justifies (they publicly stated in the past that Xbox was not a core MS business). Everything else is secondary unless it hinders GamesPass.

Bethesda's games all coming to GamePass and having their games be full price and/or come later on PlayStation incentivizes people to subscribe to GamePass and opt for an Xbox while allowing MS to make large profits from other audiences. It seems like a good predicament for MS.

porkChop1207d ago

MS, Sony, and Nintendo could all make more money by releasing their games on rival platforms. That doesn't mean anything.

The Bethesda buyout was unprecedented. It was a power move, a major play. You don't spend that kind of money just to keep the games multiplatform, because that doesn't bolster your own platforms in any way.

Notellin1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

They make more money by luring people into the ecosystem. PC and Xbox will bring plenty of sales.

Why wouldn't Nintendo and Sony release their games on other platforms if it was all about games sold?

majiebeast1207d ago Show
DOMination-1207d ago

I always read this comment about making more money if it is released on competing consoles but if that was the case, why don't Microsoft and Sony make all their games multiplatform? I don't think it's this simplistic.

I don't know the answer, but I would speculate that there is great value in keeping products exclusive to your ecosystem. By the time any Bethesda games are released, the margin in the hardware sales should be there to make up some of the lost sales in software - and for the stubborn few who refuse to buy Xbox at any cost but will play on PC - many of them will end up subscribing to gamepass in some form to play it.

Zeref1207d ago

Well they would make more money if Halo was on PS5 as well.
Why is God of War not on Xbox? They'd make more money as well.

🤦🏾‍♂️

wiz71911206d ago

I mean Minecraft was already multi platform before Microsoft purchased Mojang. It would of been a disaster if they removed Minecraft from other consoles it was already on.

RazzerRedux1206d ago

"Minecraft was pre existing, "

Minecraft Dungeons wasn't.

343_Guilty_Spark1206d ago

The same argument could be used for all exclusives.

RazzerRedux1206d ago

"The same argument could be used for all exclusives."

Not all exclusives started out trying to justify a $7.5 billion price tag.

+ Show (11) more repliesLast reply 1206d ago
Destiny10801207d ago

losing 70% of your sales is not good for any company

but if there's one company that could do it, its microsoft

gamer78041207d ago

If they put the games day one in Xbox gamespass then It would be worth it for MS to get people to come to Xbox and subscribe to gamespass

Neonridr1207d ago

the company won't care because they aren't funding development anymore.

Orchard1207d ago

Microsoft just made two Bethesda’s in profit in 3 months. I don’t think they’re worried about cutting other platforms.

CJQNSNYC1206d ago (Edited 1206d ago )

70%? You think Xbox and PC only account for 30% of Bethesda's sales? I think you've grossly underestimated how popular Bethesda's games are on Steam and Xbox.

Tedakin1206d ago

They release their games on Steam and Windows. MS's reach is over 80% of the gaming market. So more like 18%, but it will drive people to play on Xbox or PC, so they'll make up a lot of that.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 1206d ago
Sonyslave31207d ago

I know right it going to be 99% xbox/pc smh. The only games i can see coming to switch or ps5 is the mmo's.

Darkborn1207d ago

Yeah, Microsoft did, not Xbox. Xbox is basically a money pit.

Sonyslave31207d ago

No actually xbox is making good money did you read ms report xbox is making profits.

Here im going to let matty and a hardcore ps fan explain

Yongera
https://m.youtube.com/watch...

MrMattyPlays
https://m.youtube.com/watch...

Darkborn1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

So they made over the amount they just spent on zenimax? That would be profit. And I mean Xbox, not Microsoft that makes billions all the time.

AngelicIceDiamond1207d ago

That's why Phil used MS and not Xbox division. MS spent 7.5b and made back 15b back.

Darkborn1207d ago

Exactly, it's a money pit. I remember investors of Microsoft were wondering a few years ago where their return was with Xbox. They probably barely made their investment in mojang, and all the other recent studios back and now they go and spend way more before they get a return. The guys in suits might get pissed pretty soon unless they they get paid.

Orchard1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

@Darkborn irrelevant really. Xbox is profitable but Sony also make money from non-PlayStation products, just not as much as Microsoft overall.

So yes, Microsoft are a more successful corporation than Sony and can therefore afford things like Bethesda.

No one cares how Xbox or PlayStation are doing - they care how Microsoft and Sony are doing. You can’t buy Xbox or PlayStation stocks.

As for the “guys in suits getting annoyed”... I doubt they’re annoyed. Microsoft is now one of the most valuable companies, over 15x that of Sony and is trending towards 2 trillion dollars value.

waverider1207d ago

Thats what they dont understand. Microsoft did. The Gaming division is another thing.

Darkborn1206d ago (Edited 1206d ago )

The thing you guys don't seem to understand is everytime the investors get reports, it's almost always negative for Xbox. Eventually they might just shut it down. Look at Google stadia. Google could go buy Sony and Microsoft right now in one day and they just shut down stadia gaming studios. Also, look at Amazon. Another huge company that could buy basically a bunch of huge publishers and it wouldn't even be what they pay in taxes (or don't). They are shutting down games and probably going quietly into the night.

Orchard1206d ago (Edited 1206d ago )

@Darkborn Almost always negative? Please link one. I went through earnings reports for the last two years and didn’t find any negative Xbox ones.

Also Google could go buy Microsoft? What? Microsoft are valued higher than Google right now - over 400bn higher.

Fanboys have claimed MS will kill Xbox for multiple generations now and yet here we are with new consoles and Microsoft investing more dollars in gaming than ever, and far more than Sony too. Maybe Sony will shut PlayStation down!?

Darkborn1206d ago

Well this was last year. A report saying earnings went down is not positive. I will say it does say that the expansion of game pass is helping Microsoft out though and it's true. Offering free games for a cheap subscription is a good thing for consumers but a bad thing for productivity.

https://www.siliconrepublic...

Orchard1206d ago

Right... so it made less money one of the last 8 quarters. But was still profitable. I’m sure investors would be fine with that - they would only care if it was in the red/negative.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 1206d ago
Fluttershy771207d ago

Exclusives are great, but at the time Minecraft wouldn't have changed by itself the destiny of Xbox One... the game became super popular because it launched in every single platform... it's an all platform friendly game.
Look at the best fighting game of the last decade Killer Instinct... A master piece that is... dead, a commercial failure (the people that made that game were forced to vanish, they are working in Amazon Games or something. I think KI would have been way more popular if it launched on Playstation too, even the switch.
Also there are two ways of having exclusives:
1) Developing and taking risks with unknown IPs (it could be great or could be a failure)
2) Bulling your way around with money

LucasRuinedChildhood1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

Exclusivity to boost console sales is definitely not the reason this purchase was approved. The numbers don't add up.

The PS4 was the most profitable console in gaming history ( https://www.gamesradar.com/... ) and the PS division still doesn't have the money to buy Bethesda. The PS division itself made $1.6 billion in profit in 2018, for example. Even if MS somehow won the console war with 100 million Xbox consoles sold, ***this $7.5 billion acquisition would eat beyond an entire console generation worth of profits by itself***.

They did it because want high subscription numbers for GamePass (they want it to be the Netflix of gaming and to get a foothold), and they need studios to make content for the service. Their Bethesda games being full price on PlayStation and potentially first on Xbox would work out very well for them.

PapaBop1207d ago

Not sure what the most updated statistics are but I can give you over 114m (PS4 consoles sold) reasons why

waverider1207d ago

Hundreds of millions on PS consoles where all sell much more then on xbox consoles, because their marketshare is much much bigger.

moomoo3191206d ago

They will strategically lock certain exclusives to xbox or gamepass, but definitely not every bethesda game they release.

JL29301206d ago

Because Sony need all the games they can get, they only produce interactive movies.

S2Killinit1206d ago

MS is pretending that these developers may release on other consoles to prevent any possible backlash they may receive for cannibalizing the industry. Then they will also be able to announce the exclusivity as a “surprise” for the shock effect. You can mark my words here. The games will be MS exclusives. This is how MS behaves. Always has.

+ Show (9) more repliesLast reply 1206d ago
BrainSyphoned1207d ago

Because it will just be a vault of games from when Bethesda was worth something.

Sitdown1207d ago

Come on, you can do better than that.

BrainSyphoned1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

My thoughts exactly on the name. I'm sure someone tried to 76 it but was told "it just works"

King_Noctis1207d ago (Edited 1207d ago )

Didn’t Bethesda literally published Doom Eternal last year? Are you saying Doom Eternal worth nothing?

Tedakin1207d ago

Doom Eternal was a Bethesda game, and one of the best games of the last several years.

Vizigoth041207d ago

Nothing hardly ever comes out of a vault anyway so that’s cool.

fitofficial1207d ago

TES VI: Minecraft Edition Day One Starter Pack

phoenixwing1207d ago

Wouldn't surprise me with how blocky the other elder scrolls have been

Show all comments (84)
190°

Sony shares big new PS Plus stat, but not the one we want to see

PlayStation Plus has improved the split of PS4 and PS5 players on its priciest tiers, but Sony continues to hide total subscriber numbers.

Read Full Story >>
theloadout.com
mandf19h ago

lol acting like it’s equivalent to ms numbers

Mr Logic19h ago

Uh...They're definitely not equivalent.

"Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service now has 34 million subscribers."

"the total number of PS Plus subscribers across all tiers was 47.4 million"

darthv7218h ago(Edited 18h ago)

That PSN number seems like it should be much higher... especially when you consider that PS4 alone has a sell through of over 117m. To not even be at least half that is rather interesting.

To the XB side, having 34m to an install base of roughly 50m (XBO sell through) or even 85m (360 sell through) is a greater percentage of unit to member ratio than PSN.

bloop15h ago

That's not the "gotcha" you think it is Darth.

darthv7214h ago

^^it's not supposed to be bloop.... it's just an interesting observation.

Einhander197212h ago

darthv72

"That PSN number seems like it should be much higher... especially when you consider that PS4 alone has a sell through of over 117m. To not even be at least half that is rather interesting.

To the XB side, having 34m to an install base of roughly 50m (XBO sell through) or even 85m (360 sell through) is a greater percentage of unit to member ratio than PSN."

Have you ever heard of a PC before? I hear they are pretty popular.

fr0sty6h ago

MS started lumping gold subscribers in with those GP numbers... keep in mind.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 6h ago
shinoff218317h ago(Edited 17h ago)

What. Definitely more os plus subscribers but that makes sense due to actual console sales

Darth the difference between the bases are huge your right but you gotta think. Ps players buy more games, where as the Xbox base relies on gamepass for their gaming. So it makes perfect sense

darthv7217h ago(Edited 17h ago)

What makes perfect sense though? You say PS players buy more games... so then logically there should be more PS+ subscribers given the increased number of online multiplayer games in the PS4 generation alone. The PS4 was the first time that + was required for online play much like Gold was for 360 users.

Keep in mind we are talking subscribers, not simply XB/PS users. I assume you meant to say offline single player games, which is most likely true as well. That gen also saw a significant increase in games with an online component comparted to the previous gen.

victorMaje17h ago

I for one will be going back to essential at the next renewal. When I feel a game is good & right up my alley, I’ll check trusted reviews & just buy it.

jznrpg15h ago(Edited 15h ago)

I have the top tier until 2028 as they gave me a massive discount for all the years I had left but I’ll most likely go to essential as well. I buy my games but my kids do use the service occasionally. They do prefer to own their games as well since any game can leave the rental service at some point and they don’t like that idea. They mostly use it to demo games then ask me to buy games if they really like it.

RedDevils11h ago

For me, I will cancel it all together but unfortunately I still have it till 2030 lol

meganick15h ago

I would like to see Sony add a fourth tier of PS Plus for people who just want to be able to play games online without any of the perks like monthly games, store discounts, or anything like that, and it should cost $20 annually, $30 maximum. There’s no way I’m paying $80 just to play games online. Even the original $60 fee was too much, and I would often wait for sales to re-up my subscription.

P_Bomb11h ago(Edited 11h ago)

Essential is too expensive, I agree. We’ve got one Essential and one Premium sub. Dropping the Premium when it expires.

gamerz8h ago

Just let my subscription lapse for the first time since 2010. Will sub again every now and then for a month or so to access my old ps+ games but for me it's the end of an era.

DivineHand1257h ago

Let those numbers continue to drop because it is now too expensive. $80 per year just to play online. I noticed they didn't offer any discounts on the subscription or controllers during this year's days of play for the first time in many years and they will feel it when people choose not to renew.

My subscription will lapse next month and it will stay that way until further notice.

KevtheDuff4h ago

There were savings on subs and controllers here in the UK? I bought a controller yesterday in the sale..
It would be weird if those deals were not in other territories too?

160°

Silent Hill Transmission Livestream

Konami has announced that a Silent Hill Transmission will take place on Thursday, May 30, at 4pm PT/7pm ET that will reveal game updates, a "deeper look at the film," and new merch. Join us at IGN to find out what's next for this beloved franchise.

RaidenBlack1d 13h ago

Hope SH2 gets more polish before release.

P_Bomb1d 13h ago

I’m not paying $94 CAD for what they’ve shown me. Looks rough as sin.

Fishy Fingers1d 13h ago

Ive seen better lip syncing during a Punch and Judy show

Sonic18811d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

This looks terrible. Capcom should have done the remake 😂 The animations and gameplay looks stiff.

-Foxtrot1d 13h ago (Edited 1d 13h ago )

Okay. I was saying before in another article how SH2 looked better than the last trailer, which is true but damn this looks rough as hell.

I wanted RE4 / Dead Space remake quality

Sonic18811d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

I wouldn't buy it for $70 dollars. Maybe when it's on sale.

-Foxtrot1d 12h ago

Yeah full price, deluxe editions, Konami are f***** tripping here.

CrimsonWing691d 12h ago

The characters look terrible to me… like it’s distracting.

repsahj1d 7h ago

I will give this game a chance!!! let's go!

80°

Cheat Provider To Pay Call Of Duty Creator Activision Nearly $15M In Damages

Cheat software provider EngineOwning will pay Call of Duty creator Activision nearly $15 million in damages and legal fees.

Read Full Story >>
twistedvoxel.com
Jin_Sakai1d 16h ago

Cheat providers for competitive games should be illegal.

Rynxie1d 12h ago (Edited 1d 12h ago )

This is what developers and manufacturers should do. I know going after cheat devices/makers is a cat and mouse game, and cost money. However, they can get that money back by sueing these manufacturers of cheat devices. Take a page from Nintendo's playbook.