Visitors line up to play the Fallout 76 video game, developed and published by Bethesda Softworks, during Paris Games Week on October 27, 2018.
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LONDON – The European Union has approved Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax, the parent company of iconic video game publisher Bethesda Softworks, for $ 7.5 billion.
The European Commission – the EU’s executive body – made the decision to close the Microsoft-ZeniMax deal on Friday, according to an update to its merger case record. The Commission claims that it has not encountered any competition problems resulting from the acquisition.
Microsoft announced that it would buy ZeniMax in September. It is the largest game acquisition in Microsoft’s history, exceeding the $ 2.5 billion that the company paid for Minecraft developer Mojang in 2014.
Bethesda is a household name in the video game industry, known for publishing a number of successful game franchises, including Fallout, The Elder Scrolls and Doom. Microsoft plans to expand its subscription offering, Xbox Game Pass, by bringing Bethesda games to its extensive title library.