Update: Well, this has been a confusing day. Following the discovery of the below document, another has been highlighted by UESP on Twitter (thanks RPS), this time detailing that 'Vault' won't be the permanent name for ZeniMax Media and Bethesda games under Microsoft, and that the ZeniMax name will ultimately survive the merger.
"The concentration is accomplished by way of a merger pursuant to which Vault Merger Sub, Inc. ("Vault") will be merged with and into ZeniMax. Following this merger, Vault will cease to exist and ZeniMax will survive, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft."
Original story: Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media (the parent company of Bethesda) for $7.5 billion is obviously still yet to be approved by the European Commission, but it seems we've got some new EU documentation.
In it, it's revealed ZeniMax and subsidiary Bethesda will be merged into a new Microsoft subsidiary known as "Vault".
"Microsoft acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of ZeniMax. The concentration is accomplished by way of a merger pursuant to which a newly created Microsoft subsidiary (‘Vault’) will be merged with and into ZeniMax."
Feel free to take a look at the full EU document. As noted above, approval is expected within the next five days. So, what do you think of Vault as a name? Appropiate enough? Share your thoughts down below.
[source eur-lex.europa.eu, via twitter.com]
Comments 35
Anybody still thinks Bethesda going to bring games to the Playstation 5? I like what Microsoft is doing!
Eww, I'm not a fan. We've known Bethesda by name for decades. Since the MS DOS era! Killing the name isn't sitting well with me. Naming it after fallout when that's their least identified brand, and it's best really identified with inExile (also MS) is just confusing salt in the wound.
Will doom and quake now be A Vault instead of id? Kill it with Flame Touch.
@NEStalgia No, this just puts all of these companies under the one banner.
They would have to be regulated as a lot of weird sh#t went down in them vaults. At least they didn't call it '' series v ''
@NEStalgia I don’t think they are getting rid of Bethesda. It sounds to me like they are getting rid of the “Zenimax Media” part.
(I’m sure the studio will still be Zenimax Online and Bethesda will still be Bethesda)
Like Xbox game studios houses Obsidian.
Yeah I'm sure this means fallout and elder Scrolls will be made by the various Bethesda studios. Just the Zenimax media and Bethesda publisher bits of the splash screen will be replaced with Vault
Vault. Locking up the IP since 2021.
@SalmonTag I still think it will be on a case by case basis. The vast majority will be Xbox (Console, PC, Cloud) exclusive but some will be multi-platform either day 1 or timed exclusive when appropriate and it makes business sense.
@SalmonTag For me the smart thing to do would be to announce all new games as Xbox console exclusive and see if it has an impact on console sales/gamepass subs at the point of release - if it does then it remains exclusive, if it doesn't then they can port an ultimate/gold/goty edition to PlayStation a year later and say that it was a timed exclusive (like Rise of the Tomb Raider)
@Only1PJA
This works only once, after that all will assume it will happen for every game in the future too.
Not necessarily but equally unless they state categorically that "at no point will any version of this game ever be released on any non Xbox console" then there will be some people that will assume it will eventually get released on PS anyway.
I dont personally see any of their IP's as being a dramatic needle shifting property that MS would suddenly win the console war if the only way to play these games would be on Xbox but it would hopefully quiet some of the more vocal PS fanboys that constantly resort to XboX Haz nO eXcluSIveZ
However they're going to need to recoup that $7.5bil plus the ever increasing costs of game development and I dont see that happening by limiting the user base.
Long story short (too late!) - I can see both sides of the argument and dont have a clue!
@NEStalgia I'm pretty sure that games will still be released under the Bethesda label as well. Vault will just be the umbrella under which they will all be published.
Will probably be something along the lines of a game displaying an intro like "Vault presents a Bethesda game" etc.
I don’t know what this means but I hope they keep Bethesda as Bethesda and don’t get rid of the name altogether. Smartest move would be to have Vault as an umbrella name with Bethesda/ID etc all those studios under it keeping their names and recognition.
@SalmonTag I don't really care about exclusivity and I would be ok with microsoft releasing their Exclusives everywhere but I have to admit that PS fanboys tend to be the most toxic community online so I'd really enjoy seeing them lose it if TES6 and other bethesda games would be confirmed xbox exclusives.
@Fenbops
I think it's just an umbrella name so they aren't called Zenimax anymore.
All studios under the new Vault umbrella would still keep their original names I would assume.
@Only1PJA there is only one thing. Microsoft already recouped bethesda investment twice last quarter. That change things a little.
@Only1PJA public traded companies like MS only have to make money like this back if they took a loan to do the aquisition.
There are few things investors dislike more than seeing a company hoard cash, they want that money spent into potential growth. They rather see a company spend every spare penny on gambles that lose money than sit with money on the bank. Zenimax acquisition will grow the company size and value even if they never make that money back. Only thing that will be pad is if zenimax starts performing so poorly they are forced to dismantle it.
That aside, in last quarter alone, MS made 2x the money they spent on Zenimax. They dont need more money, they need more things to throw that money at.
@Only1PJA
If there is a console maker which is not limiting the user base, then its microsoft (XBox consoles, PC, xCloud).
Vault, I like it.. Simple and easy to remember..
Just waiting for the deal to be confirmed and the same day announcing thrlat starfield and Wolfenstein 3 are xbox/pc exclusive and coming out in 2021
Good points about this replacing the publisher and not the studio names. That makes sense.
@Tharsman That post clearly defines absolutely everything wrong with current Western civilization and why it's careening towards inevitable collapse from cannibalism of itself....
@NEStalgia they didn’t kill the name, they are making them part of Vault just like Bethesda has been a part of Zenimax for years....how rare has been part of Microsoft studios but they kept the name Rare....same thing just under a different subsidiary probably to pass EU monopoly *****...
Having a those studios be part of their own subsidiary could mean they'll be given more autonomy than the other first party studios, although honestly im sure Microsoft is still deciding how to properly use them.
MS won't come out and definitively speak to exclusivity until the merger is approved. Nothing raises red flags like saying we're going to excluded a massive percentage of gamers. It will be interesting to see what's announced after the deal closes.
@Only1PJA Elder Scrolls would shift things if they made that exclusive. Oblivion being exclusive for the 360 for a while was a big enough deal, and Skyrim was a huge hit (not just because it was released 100 times either). There's little chance Elder Scrolls 6 isn't another huge hit.
@Blessed_Koz EU monopoly ***** is the only thing standing between Disney/Apple/Amazon/Tesla and owning the world.
@Vepra Only fanboys say one group of fanboys is worse than any other. You're a fanboy of a corporation yourself (probably Nintendo judging by your profile pic) when only one group of fanboys bother you so much.
Games are meant to be played and be available to everyone.
But I still want Microsoft to make these Bethesda games exclusive to Xbox. Sony has been doing this for years now, now it's Microsofts turn to get themselves some killer exclusives and push people to the Xbox side.
@NEStalgia Considering this latest update, you can now rest easy again...
Oh, and thanks for not tagging me in your reply.
Ahh, the complexities of legal loopholes. So there's really no such thing as Vault at all, it's a fake shell company created as an MS subsidiary just to have a "equal" to "merge" Zenimax with for legal paperwork purposes and regulatory statute, and then when it's all done they can drop the imaginary company and claim they merged it into the new "combined" Zenimax. Gotta' love it.
@DreamerAbe86 No, not really a fan boy. I've never been loyal to just one platform, always bought what made the most sense to me at that time. For example my Series S is my first xbox console. Following the news on the videogame industry all over social medias and websites like this one made PS fanboys stand out the most tho. Nintendrones usually make dumb excuses for dumb decisions Nintendo made, PS fanboys tend to trash every other platform everywhere calling people who chose a different gaming consoles all sorts of names. But hey thats just my expirience
@Vepra All fanboys do this. All fanboys stupidly defend the anticonsumer practices of their favorite corporation. Fanboys of all camps are toxic and call each other names. PlayStation, Nintendo, PC, and Xbox. Again, that you only notice one group of being toxic just shows you're a fanboy yourself, so you ignore the toxicity coming from your side.
@Vepra Anyways, glad you went with Xbox. PlayStation just has one-and-done playable movies and weeboo games. PlayStation is for loners with no friends. But those ponies are delusional and think they actually have good games. 🤭
@DreamerAbe86 Never said toxicity is exclusives to PS fanboys, just that they seem to me to be the most toxic.
@Vepra True, those ponies are the worst.
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