Ever since Bethesda and their parent company Zenimax Media were purchased by Microsoft last fall, details on the merger have been scarce. With games like The Elder Scrolls VI and Starfield in development, it has been unknown what the plan would be in terms of any future Bethesda titles coming anywhere other than Xbox and PC.
Sure, previously announced PlayStation exclusives Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo would be honored under the new deal and still only come to Sony's console. But what about and project coming after that?
About as much is known about Starfield as the deal surrounding the game's developer. The Bethesda Game Studios-developed sci-fi RPG was announced with an ambiguous teaser trailer at E3 2018 and has been rumored to be fully revealed sometime this year.
After months of speculation, the first hints at Microsoft's plans for Starfield and other Bethesda games have begun to reveal themselves.
STARFIELD A XBOX AND PC EXCLUSIVE
Gaming industry insider Jeff Grubb shared in a Tweet that, according to his sources, Bethesda's Starfield will be "exclusive to Xbox and PC."
Starfield is exclusive to Xbox and PC. Period. This is me confirming that. https://t.co/j78Msk8nyG
A NEW JEWEL IN THE XBOX CROWN
For years, Sony has been winning the first-party exclusive game. With studios like Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica pumping out hits from in-house, it has been hard to compete with. But the winds of change could be starting to blow, and Team Xbox could not be happier about it.
Many have pontificated on how Microsoft would handle the releasing of future Bethesda projects; a great deal of chatter has theorized that the big M would opt to release these titles onto PlayStation platforms because of the sheer profit potential.
Games from Bethesda Game Studios, the developers behind Fallout 3/4 and Skyrim, are some of the biggest cash cows in the industry. So, why give up that cash potential? That was the case being made for keeping these games multi-platform.
Well, if Jeff Grubb's information above holds any truth, then owners of Sony's consoles can kiss their Bethesda RPG fixes goodbye. It makes sense that Microsoft would want to lock up exclusivity. There is no sense in spending $7.5 billion for a golden goose, then offering all the other local farmers a chance to sell your product.
Of course, there is the potential that Xbox could still allow some games to crossover, but it is highly unlikely after seeing this information. Even if it may still be a ways out, if a title as high caliber as Starfield is exclusive, they all are going to be exclusive.