MS to Acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 Billion in Cash
xbox Lineup Expected to Strengthen
[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Microsoft (MS) has acquired Bethesda, the creator of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout.
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On the 21st (local time), MS acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda and several other game developers and distributors, for $7.5 billion (8.73 trillion KRW). The acquisition was made in cash.
American media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) evaluated that this acquisition puts MS a step ahead in the competition with Sony, which has been competing in the video game market.
Previously, MS acquired Mojang, the developer of Minecraft, in 2014 for $2.5 billion, and this acquisition price is three times that amount. Additionally, this acquisition amount is the second largest after Tencent's $8.6 billion acquisition of Supercell in 2016.
With this acquisition, MS will be able to add not only ZeniMax but also 2,300 employees from its affiliates. ZeniMax includes game publishing companies and development studios such as Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.
This acquisition increases the number of MS's game studios from 15 to 23.
MS recently acquired well-known developers such as Ninja Theory and Obsidian Entertainment. This series of game company acquisitions is seen as an effort to increase exclusive console games in consideration of competition with Sony. MS's XBOX, along with Sony's PlayStation, has established itself as one of the two major players in the video console game market.
Following the failure to acquire the online video sharing application TikTok, the ZeniMax acquisition was announced suddenly, but experts analyzed that acquisition negotiations had been underway even before the TikTok acquisition discussions.
WSJ introduced that the video game market has been a sector showing continuous growth, but it gained even more attention during the COVID-19 crisis. This is because people stayed home longer due to concerns about COVID-19 infection, increasing the time available for gaming.
Satya Nadella, CEO of MS, made no mention of how the failure to acquire TikTok affected the ZeniMax acquisition, only stating, "We have many business areas targeting consumers." CEO Nadella said, "Games will become a bigger market than before."
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