Microsoft’s acquisition this week of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, has brought with it ownership of several video game franchises. Included in that deal is The Elder Scrolls, a collection of games that includes the fifth chapter in the series, Skyrim, and its upcoming sequel.
In addition to those acquisitions there is also The Elder Scrolls Online, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game which began in 2014. Available on Xbox One, PC, and PlayStation 4, it’ll be business as usual for The Elder Scrolls Online even after Microsoft’s $7.5 billion purchase of it and the rest of the Bethesda game library.
“I want to take this moment to reassure the entire Elder Scrolls community that ESO will continue to be supported exactly as it was, and we fully expect to keep growing and thriving on each of the platforms that are currently supported,” Matt Firor, Studio Director of ZeniMax Online Studios, said in a statement. “We are very happy with the news, and can’t wait to see how the two companies working together can make ESO better for everyone.”
New content for The Elder Scrolls Online, in the wake of the Dark Heart of Skyrim storyline coming to a close, will arrive in November with the Markarth DLC. Revealed in a recent livestream event, Makarth will add a new zone to explore in the Reach, more challenging bosses, and a new solo arena on November 2 for PC and Mac. PS4 and Xbox One owners of the game will have to wait until November 10 before they can experience Makarth.
Microsoft made a big splash with the announcement that it was acquiring Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax. The deal includes huge franchises like Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Doom, but that’s not all. The acquisition actually includes eight new studios, all of which will now become first-party for Microsoft.
In the announcement, Microsoft mentioned all the studios represented by the acquisition. The company didn’t outline specific current or future game projects in the works from each studio, but we know some of them from prior announcements. Many recent games were co-developed across multiple studios.
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Game Studios
Fallout 76
Elder Scrolls Blades
Starfield
Elder Scrolls 6
id Software
Doom (series)
Rage (series)
Wolfenstein (series)
ZeniMax Online Studios
Elder Scrolls Online
Fallout 76
Arkane
Dishonored (series)
Prey
Deathloop
Wolfenstein Youngblood
MachineGames
Wolfenstein Youngblood
Tango Gameworks
The Evil Within (series)
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Alpha Dog
MonstroCity: Rampage (mobile)
Roundhouse Studios (formerly Human Head)
We can expect many of these games to hit Xbox Game Pass, along with new releases like Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6. That’s already a hefty catalog of new franchises under the Xbox umbrella, but questions have been popping up across social media regarding partnerships or interplays between those and other, currently owned Microsoft studios.
Obsidian, which had been acquired by Microsoft in 2018, gave a coy answer to a fan who asked if a real sequel to Fallout: New Vegas was now possible.
Obsidian developed the popular take on Fallout, but it hasn’t been involved in the series since. One of its recent games, The Outer Worlds, was widely seen as a spacefaring take on many of Fallout’s mechanics and concepts. Currently, Obsidian is working on its early access game Grounded, and its next RPG, Avowed.
And the studio Rebellion wondered aloud if this means that Microsoft now owns the rights to Rogue Warrior.
Does this mean Xbox owns Rogue Warrior now. Asking for a friend.
These studios complement the existing slate of Xbox Game Studios. Those already represented a wide swath of exclusives and first-party franchises, including Halo, Gears of War, and Minecraft. The Bethesda acquisition helps round out the portfolio, especially when it comes to two key genres: first-person shooters with the addition of Doom and Wolfenstein, and RPGs with franchises like Fallout and Elder Scrolls. Arkane also adds weight to the library with critical successes, albeit ones that aren’t as commercially explosive as some of Bethesda’s other games.
Microsoft has acquired Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax for a whopping $7.5 billion, bringing it into the Xbox fold. That includes some massive franchises like Doom, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. But as part of the acquisition news, the companies also dropped a reminder that first-party games like Starfield are available on Game Pass upon release.
The announcement from Bethesda mentions Starfield specifically: “Microsoft will grow from 15 to 23 creative studio teams and will be adding Bethesda’s iconic franchises to Xbox Game Pass. This includes Microsoft’s intent to bring Bethesda’s future games into Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or PC, like Starfield, the highly anticipated, new space epic currently in development by Bethesda Game Studios.”
The press release makes no such specific mention of Elder Scrolls 6–which Todd Howard has said is still a long way off–but the precedent set by other first-party games would suggest that it will come to Game Pass too. This also means that current ZeniMax games like Doom Eternal and Fallout 76 will likely either come to Game Pass or stay on the service in perpetuity. Any sequels to these or the company’s many other franchises will hit Game Pass too.
Microsoft also noted in its announcement that Game Pass subscriptions have risen to 15 million users. That’s a big number of monthly subscribers to its all-you-can-eat game subscription, even without the extra games coming from the Bethesda acquisition. But clearly, Xbox Game Pass is key to the Bethesda acquisition.
The second season of Disney+’s The Mandalorian hits the streaming service October 30, but with a new season, comes new toys. As the saying goes, this is the way.
Disney and Lucasfilm have announced Mando Mondays, and to celebrate the announcement, starting October 26, toy juggernaut Hasbro will release new products for The Mandalorian, available for preorder today across multiple retailers like Best Buy, Gamestop, Target, and Amazon.
3.75 scale Vintage Collection
For those fans that missed out on getting the first mini Mando wave, Hasbro is releasing a new set of toys based on the show that include almost entirely new paint jobs. This includes a new wave of the Vintage Collection, the 3.75 scale figures. You can see Mando, a Stormtrooper, Death Trooper, and Cara Dune above.
Additionally, there’s a new line of the Black Series. This round is being called the Credit Collection, and each 6-inch scale figure comes with a replica credit from the Disney+ series.
The Black Series: Credit Collection
This wave for the Credit Collection will feature The Mandalorian, IG-11, the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian, a Death Trooper, and Cara Dune.
Of course, it wouldn’t be The Mandalorian without some Baby Yoda toys–AKA The Child. Speaking of unofficial mascot of the show, The Child will have new toys as well with various expressions and actions in a fun size 2.2 inch scale.
The first mini-wave hit stores during the show’s first season and flew off the shelves almost immediately. IG-11 and the Heavy Infantry Mandalorian were some of the most difficult figures to find, and can go for high prices on secondary markets. Dune’s upgrade might be the most noticeable, with the various greens and reds really popping this time around.
The prehistoric animated comedy The Croods was released back in 2013, and grossed more than $587 million at the worldwide box office. Although the Netflix show Dawn of the Croods has been released since then, it’s taken seven years for the movie sequel to arrive. But The Croods: A New Age releases in November, and the first trailer is here.
The movie focuses on the prehistoric family of the title once more, who decide to find a new, safer place to live. They encounter a seemingly idyllic walled-in jungle paradise where a higher evolved family named the Bettermans live, and it looks like much of humor will come from the differences between the two families. Check the trailer out below.
The film features most of the original voicecast, including Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and Catherine Keener. There are also new roles for Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage and Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s Kelly Marie Tran. It’s directed by Joel Crawford.
The Croods: A New Age releases on November 25, having moved forward from its initial slot of December 23. The movie is Universal’s first big animated released since Trolls: World Tour, which skipped theaters entirely and was released very successfully onto Video on Demand in April. However, The Croods: A New Age poster, which you can see at the end of this story, clearly states “in theaters,” so that seems to be the plan–for now.
Microsoft has announced a $7.5 billion deal to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda and its many studios. Those studios are behind some big video game franchises including Doom, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and more.
In an Xbox blog post announcing the acquisition, Xbox head Phil Spencer outlined that this deal includes the studios behind franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Doom, Dishonored, Prey, and Quake, along with unreleased games like Starfield. It also mentions that Bethesda was early to support Game Pass with offerings like The Elder Scrolls, and that moving forward Bethesda’s library will be added to the service. That will include launch-day Game Pass releases for future projects like Starfield. Game Pass is a key factor in the acquisition.
“Like us, Bethesda are passionate believers in building a diverse array of creative experiences, in exploring new game franchises, and in telling stories in bold ways,” Spencer said. “All of their great work will of course continue and grow and we look forward to empowering them with the resources and support of Microsoft to scale their creative visions to more players in new ways for you.”
Separately, the announcement from Bethesda offers some further explanation of why Microsoft seemed like an appropriate match for the company, including their long partnership of working together. “So why the change? Because it allows us to make even better games going forward,” Bethesda PR and marketing boss Pete Hines said. “Microsoft is an incredible partner and offers access to resources that will make us a better publisher and developer. We believe that means better games for you to play. Simply put – we believe that change is an important part of getting better. We believe in pushing ourselves to be better. To innovate. To grow.”
“Like our original partnership, this one is about more than one system or one screen,” said Elder Scrolls and Fallout producer Todd Howard, in a statement. “We share a deep belief in the fundamental power of games, in their ability to connect, empower, and bring joy. And a belief we should bring that to everyone–regardless of who you are, where you live, or what you play on. Regardless of the screen size, the controller, or your ability to even use one.”
This is one of Microsoft’s pricier acquisitions, coming in far above Mojang ($2.5 billion) and Minecraft and roughly equalling the amount it paid for GitHub. And, while a much different sort of deal, it’s also far more than something like Disney’s Lucasfilm deal, which was worth $4.05 billion. The ZeniMax acquisition includes eight new studios in all (plus publisher Bethesda Softworks), covering a wide array of franchises:
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Game Studios
id Software
ZeniMax Online Studios
Arkane
MachineGames
Tango Gameworks
Alpha Dog
Roundhouse Studios
It’s unclear what this could mean for planned PlayStation-exclusive titles like Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo. In the past, Microsoft’s acquisition has not necessarily impacted third-party support or deals already in the works. According to Bloomberg, these two games will still see their arrangements honored, while future games will be evaluated for third-party console releases “on a case by case basis.”
Freedom Fighters, the 2003 cult classic from Hitman developer IO Interactive, might be making a comeback. The game, which was published by EA on PC, PS2, Xbox, and GameCube, has received a new rating from PEGI for PC.
The rating, which was discovered and shared by ResetEra user dex3108, lists the publisher as IO Interactive. The studio went independent in 2017 after parting ways with Square Enix, and is currently working on Hitman 3. The release date is listed as September 21, 2020, but that could be a placeholder.
This could mean that the game is receiving a re-release, as the listing is identical from the previous entries aside from the publisher. The game is unavailable digitally, and is beloved enough that a touched-up re-release makes sense.
None of this is confirmed, but past precedent suggests that this rating could mean the game is going to be made available again soon.
Freedom Fighters received a 9.3/10 in GameSpot’s original review, and is often held up as a forgotten classic of its era. The game depicts an alternate-reality version of the US that has been taken over by the Soviet Union, and players took control of the eponymous freedom fighters looking to liberate the country.
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Nvidia has apologized for the epic mess of the Nvidia RTX 3080 launch last week, and in particular, how bots slammed store pages to buy up units before real people could.
In a forum post, Nvidia said the company saw “unprecedented demand” for the new RTX 3080 at retailers around the world, as well as Nvidia’s own store. The company clarified that it planned to launch its own store at 6 AM on release day but the page was immediately “inundated with traffic” and it ran into issues before Nvidia eventually got it running again.
One of the problems was related to bad actors. In particular, Nvidia acknowledged that bots and scalpers were rushing to the Nvidia store to snap up the cards, and the company is attempting to address this. “We’re doing everything humanly possible, including manually reviewing orders, to get these cards in the hands of legitimate customers,” the company said.
If you weren’t able to get a new 3080 card right away, Nvidia said it is working with its partners to ship new units “every day” to stores. “We apologize to our customers for this morning’s experience,” Nvidia said on the 3080 launch day.
Nvidia’s new, more powerful graphics cards were not the only new piece of technology that ran into issues on its first day on sale. Retailers began accepting PlayStation 5 preorders immediately after the company’s price/release date event, and they quickly sold out almost everywhere. Sony, too, has apologized for the situation and promised more stock will be available before the console launches in November.
The next major piece of gaming tech that will go on sale soon is Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox line. The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will become available for preorder on September 22, and you can check out GameSpot’s Xbox Series X/S preorder guide to find out everything you need to know.
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Despite taking place with an all-new virtual format, the Emmys went off mostly without a hitch on Sunday, seeing big awards success for Watchmen, Succession, and Schitt’s Creek.
The 2020 awards saw Zendaya’s first Emmy win for best lead actress in Euphoria, as well as a win for Mark Ruffalo, taking out the best lead actor in a limited series category for his role in I Know This Much Is True.
Watchmen’s Regina King unsurprisingly won best lead actress in a limited series, with Watchmen (GameSpot’s number 1 show of 2019) also winning awards for best limited series, best writing for a limited series for Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson, as well as Yahya Abdul-Mateen II taking out best supporting actor in a limited series.
On the comedy side of the awards night, Schitt’s Creek dominated, taking out every award in the entire category including wins for each of its main cast members.
Here is the full list of winners. To brush up on everyone who was nominated for the various categories, check out our list here.
Emmy Awards 2020 Winners
Outstanding Drama Series
Succession
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Julia Garner, Ozark
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Andrij Parekh, Succession
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Jesse Armstrong, Succession
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Zendaya, Euphoria
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Outstanding Competition Program
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Outstanding Limited Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie
Maria Schrader, Unorthodox
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie
Damon Lindelof, Cord Jefferson, Watchmen
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Regina King, Watchmen
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Outstanding Comedy Series
Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Daniel Levy and Andrew Cividino, Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
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However, we have now confirmed with Disney that this is not the case. WandaVision is slated to premiere in 2020, but the date will not be October 30, a spokesperson told us.
Elizabeth Olsen (Wanda) and Paul Bettany (Vision) return to play their characters in the series, which is the first new Marvel TV show for Disney+. The show’s official description states that WandaVision will “blend of classic television and the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”
Wanda and Vision are superheroes living idealized suburban lives, but, as you might have guessed, not everything is what it seems. Check out the first trailer here.
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