Microsoftが最高のパートナーである理由
本日、私たちはMicrosoftの傘下に入ることを発表致しました。（プレスリリースは以下をご覧ください）。
併せて、今朝Phil SpencerとTodd Howardが投稿した記事もお読みいただければ幸いです。
私はBethesdaで20年と11ヵ月の間働いてきました。もし皆さんの中に、私と同じぐらい長くひとところで働かれた方がいらっしゃるならば、様々なものを目にしてきたことでしょう。その中でも変化というものは大きなものだと思います。私がBethesdaで働き始めた当初、社員の数はほんの一握りでした。『Morrowind』の開発チームはいくつかのオフィスに収まる程度であり、6～7名の社員がゲーム開発以外のあらゆる業務を担当していました。
今やベセスダ・ソフトワークス、親会社のZeniMax Media、それに様々な自社スタジオを合わせた社員数は数千名に及び、多くの才能ある人々が各国のパブリッシャーや開発スタジオで働いています。私たちは1つの自社スタジオから大きく成長しました。かつては専らシングルプレイヤー向けのファンタジーRPGを手掛けていたのですが、今では大規模なMMOやFPSなど、あらゆるジャンルを手掛けるようになりました。ベセスダ・ソフトワークスが設立されてから34年の間に、この世界、ゲーム業界、そして弊社は大きく変化しました。そして本日、再び変化が訪れたのです。それに伴い、様々な疑問が湧いてくるのは当然だと思います。
でも重要な点は、私たちがBethesdaであることは変わらない、ということです。私たちは昨日と同じように、ずっと前から働いているスタジオで同じゲームを開発していますし、そのゲームは弊社から発売される予定です。
では、なぜ変化が必要なのでしょうか？ それは、より優れたゲームを作るためです。Microsoftは素晴らしいパートナーであり、弊社がより優れたパブリッシャーおよびデベロッパーとなるうえで欠かせないリソースを提供してくれます。これは、より優れたゲームを皆さんにお届けできることを意味しています。要するに私たちは、もっと良くなっていくために変化は重要なものの1つである、と信じているのです。私たちは、更なる高みを目指し、革新し、成長することができると信じています。
また、私たちは長い間Microsoftと協力してきた実績があります。弊社とMicrosoftは、基本理念の多くを共有していますし、情熱、品質、協力、革新を重んじる企業文化を信じています。かつて、PCゲーム限定のデベロッパーだった弊社でしたが、方針を転換して初代Xbox向けに『Morrowind』を作ろうと決断したときのことを思い出します。多くの人に、うまくいきっこない… コンソール機のプレイヤーは、そのような大規模で複雑なゲームを望んでいないと言われました。しかし、Microsoftは私たちのことを信じてくれましたし、皆さんも信じてくれました。いまやコンソール機では、あらゆる形態や規模のRPGが絶大な人気を誇っています。
私たちにとって、今回の出来事が大きな変化であることは間違いありません。とはいえ、私たちは買収という大きな変化を受け入れて、自分のよく知っている、自分の好きな仕事に戻ります。それは「すごいゲームを作ること」です。私たちは新しいことに挑戦し続けます。私たちは、今までと変わらない情熱を注いでゲームを作っていきますし、コミュニティの皆さんが私たちのゲームに注いでくださる情熱に負けないぐらいの情熱を私たちも注いで、さらに素晴らしいものを生み出していきます。
近いうちに、話題も今回の買収から私たちのゲームへと戻っていくはずです。その時には、私たちに寄せられたワクワクするような質問にもお答えしていきます。例えば「『DEATHLOOP』の情報をもっと教えてほしい」、「『Ghostwire』の続報はいつ出るのか？」、「今年Q4における『The Elder Scrolls: Online』の予定は？」、「『DOOM Eternal』のDLCの情報をもっと見たい」、「一体いつになったら『Starfield』について教えてくれるんだ！」… こういったことについて、皆さんとお話できるのが本当に楽しみですし、これ以外にもどんどんお伝えしていく予定です。これから何週間か、何ヵ月後か、何年後になるかは分かりませんが、きっとお伝えします。
私は、共に働く人たちを信じます。力を合わせて作り上げてきた会社を信じます。私たちの作ったゲームを愛してくださるコミュニティの皆さんを信じます。そして本日のお知らせは、あくまでも弊社の変化に満ちた長い歴史における1つの出来事であり、これからももっともっと大規模で素晴らしいゲームを生み出していけることを信じています。
Pete Hines
SVP Global Marketing and Communications
プレスリリース
Microsoft to Acquire ZeniMax Media and Its Game Publisher Bethesda Softworks
Iconic games portfolio, publishing expertise, and world-class talent accelerates growth in Microsoft’s Gaming business
REDMOND, Wash. September 21, 2020 – More than three billion people on the planet play games for fun, escape, and human connection. Unlike any other medium, games empower people to engage in creativity, strategic thinking and teamwork, immersing them into interactive stories and worlds created by some of the world’s most amazing creators. The cultural phenomenon of gaming has made it the largest and fastest-growing form of entertainment in the world—an industry that is expected to be more than $200 billion in annual revenue in 2021.
As the gaming industry transforms from a device-centric era to a player-centric era powered by new technology that provides the freedom to play with friends anywhere on any device, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) on Monday announced plans to acquire ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, one of the largest, privately held game developers and publishers in the world. Creators of critically acclaimed and best-selling gaming franchises including The Elder Scrolls and Fallout among many others, Bethesda brings an impressive portfolio of games, technology, talent, as well as a track record of blockbuster commercial success, to Xbox. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in cash.
With unique investments in content, community, and the cloud, Microsoft’s gaming strategy differs from others by empowering people to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want. Games are the primary growth engine in gaming, and games are fueling new cloud-gaming services like Xbox Game Pass, which has reached a new milestone of over 15 million subscribers. With the addition of Bethesda, 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.
“Gaming is the most expansive category in the entertainment industry, as people everywhere turn to gaming to connect, socialize and play with their friends,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “Quality differentiated content is the engine behind the growth and value of Xbox Game Pass—from Minecraft to Flight Simulator. As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games, and together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide.”
“This is an awesome time to be an Xbox fan. In the last 10 days alone, we’ve released details on our two new consoles which go on pre-order tomorrow, launched cloud gaming in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, and now we’re making another investment in the most critical part of our strategy: the games,” said Phil Spencer, executive vice president, Gaming at Microsoft. “Generations of gamers have been captivated by the renowned franchises in the Bethesda portfolio and will continue to be so for years to come as part of Xbox.”
The planned acquisition includes publishing offices and development studios spanning the globe with over 2,300 employees, including Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios. Bethesda’s critically acclaimed and best-selling franchises include The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein, and Dishonored, among others.
Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media was founded in 1999 by Chairman and CEO Robert A. Altman; Bethesda’s structure and leadership will remain in place.
“This is a thrilling day for this company, our employees, and our fans. We have enjoyed a close partnership with Microsoft for decades, and this deal is a natural progression of those years working together,” said Altman. “The big winners today are our fans. We are continuing to develop our slate of AAA games, but now with Microsoft’s scale and entire Game Stack, our games can only get better.”
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and completion of regulatory review. Microsoft expects the acquisition to close in the second half of fiscal year 2021 and to have minimal impact to non-GAAP operating income in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. Non-GAAP excludes the expected impact of purchase accounting adjustments, as well as integration and transaction-related expenses.
For more information, please visit the blog post from Phil Spencer, EVP Gaming at Microsoft.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.
About ZeniMax Media Inc.
ZeniMax Media is a privately-owned media organization headquartered outside Washington DC with international publishing offices around the globe. Through its subsidiaries, ZeniMax Media creates and publishes original interactive entertainment content for consoles, PCs, and handheld/wireless devices. ZeniMax Media divisions include Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks, MachineGames, ZeniMax Online Studios, Alpha Dog Games, Roundhouse Studios, ZeniMax Europe Ltd., ZeniMax Asia K.K., ZeniMax Asia Pacific Limited, and ZeniMax Australia Pty Ltd. For more information on ZeniMax Media, visit www.zenimax.com.
Forward looking statements
Statements in this release that are “forward-looking statements” are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially because of factors such as the risk that the ZeniMax Media transaction may not be completed in a timely manner or at all; any restrictions or limitations imposed by regulatory authorities; the impact of the acquisition on ZeniMax Media’s gaming community and customers; the impact of management and organizational changes on ZeniMax Media’s business; the impact on ZeniMax Media employees and our ability to retain key personnel; our effectiveness in integrating the ZeniMax Media platform and operations with Microsoft’s business; our ability to realize our broader strategic and operating objectives; significant investments in products and services that may not achieve expected returns; impairment of goodwill or amortizable intangible assets causing a significant charge to earnings; cyberattacks and security vulnerabilities that could lead to reduced revenue; increased costs, liability claims, or harm to our reputation or competitive position; excessive outages, data losses, and disruptions of our online services if we fail to maintain an adequate operations infrastructure; quality or supply problems; legal changes, our evolving business model, piracy, and other factors may decrease the value of our intellectual property; claims that Microsoft has infringed the intellectual property rights of others; claims against us that may result in adverse outcomes in legal disputes; damage to our reputation or our brands that may harm our business and operating results; exposure to increased economic and operational uncertainties from operating a global business, including the effects of foreign currency exchange; adverse economic or market conditions that may harm our business; catastrophic events or geo-political conditions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, that may disrupt our business; and the dependence of our business on our ability to attract and retain talented employees. For more information about risks and uncertainties associated with Microsoft’s business, please refer to the “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Risk Factors” sections of Microsoft’s SEC filings, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, copies of which may be obtained by contacting Microsoft’s Investor Relations department at (800) 285-7772 or at Microsoft’s Investor Relations website at www.microsoft.com/en-us/investor.
