In the wake ofMicrosoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, interviewed some key members of the publishing giant talking about the future of both companies as it pertains to the upcoming next gen consoles.
During the interview, executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios Todd Howard,who also released his own statement on the acquisition, commented on the relationship the developer has had with Microsoft dating back to the launch ofThe Elder Scrolls: Morrowindin 2002. Launching on the original Xbox,Morrowindwas seen as an incredible achievement given the limitations of the Microsoft console, something the developer had to find a unique solution to while porting the game.
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TheElder Scrolls: Morrowindrequired a ton of memory to track character quests, items, and world states, much more than the Xbox offered. Ultimately, this meant the developer had to find a way to maintain the same quality the game had on PC on the less powerful console. The developer settled with secretly rebooting the console during some load times to free up memory and keep the game running. Secretly rebooting the console seems bizarre, but certainly did the trick as the port was well received by long time fans of the series.
The acquisition caused some concern among dedicated fans of Bethesda’sThe Elder Scrolls Onlinewho are currently playing the game on the PlayStation 4. With rumors that Bethesda’s next gen offerings may be Xbox exclusive, PlayStation players are worried what that means going forward with live service game. The concern caught the attention of ZeniMax Online Studios director Matt Firor who Tweeted that thedeveloper will still supportThe Elder Scrolls Onlineon all available platforms, including players of the PlayStation 4 version of the game. Though it was announced earlier in the year that next gen version ofThe Elder Scrolls Onlinewould be free for current gen players, the acquisition could change plans for the series going forward, including the development ofThe Elder Scrolls 6.
While little is known aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6, Todd Howard, has commentedon the game’s development as it pertains to the recent acquisition. Howard has stated that access to next gen technology from Microsoft has helped improve the developer’s ability to optimize the upcoming game, including a major overhaul of the game engine the developer is using for bothStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6, promising a generational leap within the games.
Despite ZeniMax Media now being under the Microsoft umbrella, head of XboxPhil Spencer has stated ZeniMax will run in a “semi-independent” relationship, tangent to Microsoft’s other development studios. The news comes to the relief of many fans who fear that Microsoft will have a negative impact on the newly owned studios, allowing the unique identity of game franchises likeDoom,Fallout, andThe Elder Scrollsto remain intact.
TheElder Scrolls Morrowindis available on PC and Xbox One through backward compatibility.
