The European Commission has approved Microsoft’s $7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Doom and Fallout studio Bethesda Softworks. Microsoft’s deal has been approved by the EU without conditions, as it “does not raise serious doubts as to its compatibility with the common market.” The acquisition required EU approval before Microsoft could finalize the Bethesda deal and bring future games to its Xbox Game Pass subscription.
Once the deal is closed, Microsoft’s list of first-party studios will jump to 23, following the addition of Bethesda sub-studios like Dishonored developer Arkane, Wolfenstein studio MachineGames, Doom maker id Software, and The Evil Within studio Tango Gameworks. Microsoft appears to be planning to keep Bethesda running separately, with its existing leadership. That approach seems to have worked for Mojang, LinkedIn, and GitHub, which have all continued to run separately after Microsoft acquired them.
Microsoft…