Following the news that Microsoft is acquiring Zenimax Media and Bethesda, they’ve pledged the studios will remain “semi-independent”, but they haven’t taken a firm stance on future Bethesda titles being Xbox-exclusive, or fully multiplatform. Now, Bethesda boss Todd Howard has sounded off on potential exclusivity for The Elder Scrolls VI.
Howard said The Elder Scrolls VI becoming an Xbox exclusive would be “hard to imagine” (via GamesIndustry.biz), as the series has been multi-platform since its fourth iteration, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.
Todd’s comments come after he noted Bethesda’s long history with Microsoft and Xbox consoles, pointing out there has always been some kind of exclusivity for the Elder Scrolls series and Microsoft’s Xbox consoles.
“If you look at every Elder Scrolls game, there has been some exclusivity on Xbox or with Microsoft,” Howard said. “We’ve partnered with every game. Morrowind was basically a console exclusive, Oblivion was a long timed exclusive, Skyrim‘s DLC was exclusive for a long period of time.”
He added, “We’ll decide what makes the best sense for our audience when the time comes, and I can’t really project today what that looks like.” This is an interesting point, as the acquisition deal for Microsoft and Bethesda won’t be finalized until next year.
Lastly, it’s worth reiterating that Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently suggested Microsoft could fully recoup the $7.5 billion they’re putting up to acquire Zenimax Media and Bethesda Softworks even with their future games being console exclusive, on Xbox.
Both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI are only confirmed for Windows PC, with the next console generation confirm probably coming sometime next year. The most recent update we have for both games is the confirmation they’re running on a new version of Bethesda’s flagship engine.