Last month, Microsoft surprised the gaming world with the announcement that it had acquired Bethesda Softworks for the price of $7.5 billion. It seemed that the gauntlet had been thrown down in the upcomingconsole warsbetween the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, which both launch in November.
In a recent interview, Phil Spencer, the current Executive Vice President of Gaming at Microsoft, revealed that theBethesda acquisitionwon’t be the last for the company. Xbox Game Pass is a service whose growth and sustainability are being actively pursued by Microsoft, and purchasing additional studios is integral to that plan.
RELATED:Head of Xbox Thinks Game Pass Needs More Casual and E-Rated Games
Microsoft, said Spencer, “will constantly be in this mode of bringing more creators into the fold” in order to “feed” theXbox Game Passas it continues to grow. Acquiring Bethesda Softworks brought a number of renowned game studios under the Xbox wing in one fell swoop and with it a number of established franchises such asThe Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, DOOM, Dishonored, Prey,andThe Evil Within.This is enough to satisfy even the most discerning gamer for a while, but inevitably it will only make players expect a continuation of such great game offerings.
Already, a subscription to Xbox Game Pass provides gamers with access to a large number of titles, covering most genres and interests, and new content is constantly being added. From remasters of classicLucasArts titles likeGrim Fandangoto the addition of Ubisoft’sRainbow Six Siege,Spencer has also stated that the service plans to add more casual and E-rated games in the future. These frequent additions offset somewhat the fact that titles are also removed from the service at regular intervals.
The xCloud service could also potentially come to the Xbox One, thereby allowing players to enjoy next-gen games on their current-gen consoles without investing in anXbox Series X. And Spencer has even discussed the possibility that one day Xbox Game Pass might enable players to stream games directly to their TVs and bypass the need for a console altogether.
MORE:Xbox Game Pass May One Day Stream Directly to TV With No Console Required
