The European Union gave the green light to Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda to go ahead.
The EU approved the deal between Microsoft and Bethesda over the weekend, writing that “it does not raise serious doubts about its compatibility with the common market”. In other words, the EU does not see Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda as a monopoly in the video game industry.
Just yesterday, Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda was approved by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Although this was by no means the final hurdle for the deal to pass, it moved the deal a step closer to the finish line. Now, with the EU and SEC decisions passed and approved, there is not much more obstacle to Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda.
Previously, Xbox boss Phil Spencer estimated that the deal would be completed in the second half of 2021. When Microsoft announced the purchase of Bethesda last year in September 2020, there was some confusion over whether Bethesda timed PlayStation exclusives as Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo would still be exclusive to Sony’s console, but Microsoft has pledged to stick to all previous deals.
As for Bethesda itself, the company will operate in a “semi-independent” manner from Microsoft after the acquisition. In addition, the developer apparently plans to launch Starfield later this year in 2021, so this could be the first test of whether Microsoft will allow a game made by Bethesda to reach Sony platforms on the first day.
For a complete view of all the games that arrive on Microsoft’s powerful next-generation console, go to our next Xbox Series X games guide for more.