Xbox Confirms 20 Bethesda Titles That Will Be Coming To Game Pass
Microsoft is rolling out the green carpet for Bethesda, as the house that Xbox built confirms 20 new games that will be coming to the Game Pass. If the release of the next-gen Xbox Series X/S in 2020 wasn't enough to propel Microsoft forward, how about the bank-busting acquisition of ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion? Although the ink isn't even dry yet, Microsoft has revealed which beloved games from the Bethesda catalogue will be making their way to the subscription game service.
News that Bethesda will be sheltering under the umbrella of Microsoft is huge. Think of it as being on a par with Disney buying 20th Century Fox and bringing the X-Men to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Bethesda has some giant games under its belt and is known for everything from The Elder Scrolls to Fallout. Unsurprisingly, these big hitters are set to be front and centre of the supersized Game Pass.
Which Bethesda Games will be available on the Xbox Game Pass?
During a massive roundtable to celebrate the union between Microsoft and Bethesda, the 20 titles were revealed. If you're an Xbox owner, get ready to sink hundreds of hours into the console if you haven't already played any of the below. Even if you have, now might be the right time to jump back in and try them out all over again. The 20 games will be coming to the Game Pass on Xbox, PC, and Cloud today (March 12).
Kicking things off with an alien-blasting bloodbath, id Software's DOOM franchise is getting a lot of love. Alongside the original 1993 DOOM, there's all the fury of DOOM 2, Doom 3, DOOM 64, and DOOM Eternal. Added to this, id's Rage 2 is also coming to Game Pass. Fans of the Wolfenstein games are in for a treat as MachineGames' Wolfenstein: The New Order, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood are set to make their mark. Arkane Studios is also tooling up with Prey, Dishonored Definitive Edition, and Dishonored 2.
Elsewhere, Tango Gameworks wants our blood to run cold with The Evil Within and the Game Pass rounds off with arguably its biggest and best. Bethesda Games Studios will dominate the revamped game pass with The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Special Edition, The Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 4, and the divisive Fallout 76. You name it, we've got it.
What's next for Bethesda on the Xbox Game Pass?
If all these games weren't enough, Microsoft also promised a "handful" of these games will get an FPS enhanced boost on Xbox Series X/S. Although we don't know which ones yet, there are plenty of candidates - with Fallout 4 being a popular choice. Microsoft concluded by saying, "We invite you to play these iconic games, whether it’s the first time or a revisit to these beloved worlds. As for what’s next, the teams across Bethesda are hard at work and will have more to share later this year".
The reveal comes just after Microsoft did something of a U-turn and confirmed "some" future Bethesda games will be Xbox exclusives. Discussing the company's stance on Bethesda exclusivity, Microsoft boss Phil Spencer clarified: "Obviously I can't sit here and say every Bethesda game is [an Xbox] exclusive, because we know that's not true. There's contractual obligations that we're going to see through.
"We have games that exist on other platforms and we're going to go and support those games on the platforms they're on. There's communities of players - we love those communities and will continue to invest in them - and even in the future there might be...either contractual things or legacy on different platforms that we'll go do."
Previously, the company had teased that the games would be played "best" on Xbox and possibly release there first, before being rolled out to the likes of PlayStation. However, just like Sony has the first-party crown with everything from God of War to The Last of Us, Microsoft might've seen the potential in locking the likes of Starfield and Fallout 5 to its own systems. Either way, Bethesda is looking for a bigger and brighter future as its hold hands with Microsoft and gets ready to surely skip to the top of the gaming charts.
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