Bethesda founder Christopher Weaver comments on the recent sale of Zenimax to Microsoft. According to him, the users will be the winners of the entire deal.
Christopher Weaver is among the first people instrumental to the creation of Elder Scrolls. In an interview, he notes what kind of power move Microsoft did by buying Zenimax. From a business perspective, the sale is a masterwork that will give Xbox the lead it needs.
Microsoft-Zenimax is “interesting,” says Bethesda founder
In his interview, Weaver claimed that he knew much of the inner workings of the Zenimax deal. He was aware of the discussion, calling it “an extremely interesting acquisition on the part of both groups.”
“Microsoft deepens their bench instantly with one of the most experienced companies in entertainment software (during a time when video game sales are at an all-time high), and Bethesda gets the benefit of concentrating their creative firepower on software that feeds the Microsoft pipelines,” Weaver detailed. “A good prospective marriage of interests with a large domestic public partner.”
Back in its early years, Weaver was among the key figures who founded Bethesda in 1986. He was also among the people who founded Zenimax in 1999, officially leaving in 2002. He stayed as the largest shareholder of Zenimax until 2007.
Weaver is confident that Microsoft can manage Zenimax enough to make it a strong asset. The consolidation will create a level of unprecedented success for both the tech giant and Zenimax.
Weaver confident that Microsoft will take advantage of deal
Christopher Weaver also highlighted how Microsoft plans to utilize Zenimax IPs to their advantage. Xbox head Phil Spencer says they will honor the timed-exclusives with Sony. Even then, Weaver says Microsoft is ready to take advantage of the Bethesda product.
“My understanding is that Microsoft respects Bethesda’s 34 years of proven ability to produce quality software and has promised to let Bethesda be Bethesda,” says the former Bethesda founder. “Nevertheless, I have yet to meet an executive who does not want to accelerate the sale of a potential product.
“The trick is to keep those administrators at bay until a product is truly ready for prime time. Bethesda has been producing commercial software for a very long time. I have to believe Microsoft execs will be responsive to Bethesda’s input.”
Weaver was equally confident that Microsoft is ready to take advantage of Zenimax’s position in the market. He believes that the consolidation will help both companies improve.
“I do not think it is any accident that this announcement occurred so close to Sony’s PS5 announcement,” Weaver claims. “There are only a limited number of proven creators of AAA. What Microsoft owns, Sony cannot get.
“There are many economies of scale that consolidation between the right partners has the capacity to provide, but the ultimate test will be evidenced by the quality of products produced over time.”
Christopher Weaver believes the Zenimax deal is a “brilliant counter-move against Sony.” Microsoft is poised to push its lead even further, looking to buy more studios. Rumors suggest that the tech giant is looking for a Japanese company to add to its portfolio.
Featured image courtesy of Phil Spencer/Twitter