The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the purchase of Microsoft Bethesda, which will bring the publisher and all of its studios to the Xbox family. It was one of the last remaining obstacles to closing the acquisition, but Bethesda is not yet becoming part of the Xbox.
The SEC posted a “effectiveness notice” for the transaction on its website this week. If you are not familiar with SEC filings, this does not exactly mean much on the surface, but this notice is used when the SEC accepts registration for a company. The “S-4” on the page means that this is related to a merger or acquisition and, if you refer to the documents related to this notice, Microsoft’s registry value is $ 7.5 billion. This is the amount agreed during the deal last year.
The SEC’s approval, in fact, came when we expected to hear the word of the European Commission, the other major regulatory body that could interrupt this deal. The decision was scheduled for March 5, although it does not appear to have been made public yet, assuming the decision has not been fully postponed. Assuming it is approved, it shouldn’t be long before we see companies officially working together.
This does not mean that PlayStation fans will be immediately left in the dust, however. The next Deathloop game will be released as a PlayStation-exclusive console, as the deal was made prior to the acquisition of Microsoft, and Microsoft is honoring that. It will be at least a year before the game reaches the Xbox or other platforms. The games of the future are more in the air, although it would certainly make sense for major franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Doom to become exclusive to Microsoft to attract more players.
