为何Microsoft是最好的选择
我们今天宣布即将加入Microsoft大家庭（新闻稿如下）。如果您还未有机会阅读Phil Spencer和Todd Howard于今早分享的公告，请别忘了看看这两篇文章。
若您也和我一样在同一个地方工作了大半生（我在Bethesda的职业生涯再过一个月就21年了），您想必会发现一些事情。其中最主要的，就是变化。我刚加入Bethesda时，公司的规模只不过寥寥数人。我们只有数个办公室来容纳《Morrowind》的制作团队，另外还有大约六七位职员分布在其它地方。
如今，Bethesda Softworks、我们的母公司ZeniMax Media和许多内部工作室雇用了数千名才华横溢的员工，他们分别在世界各地的发行办公室和开发工作室工作。我们已经从一间内部工作室发展成多个工作室：从专注于单机奇幻RPG，到开发大型MMO、第一人称射击等等的所有内容。自Bethesda Softworks成立以来的34年间，这个世界、我们的行业和我们的公司都发生了地覆天翻的变化。今天，变化再一次到来。我知道这会引来一些疑问。
然而，关键在于：我们仍然是Bethesda。我们仍将致力于开发我们昔日的游戏，这些游戏是由我们合作多年的工作室共同努力的呕心沥血之作，它们今后也将由我们继续发行。
那为什么要改变呢？因为这将能让我们制作出更好的游戏。Microsoft是个不可思议的合作伙伴，它所提供的资源将能让我们成为更好的发行商和开发者。我们相信这意味着您可以玩到更好的游戏。简而言之，我们相信变化是持续进步的重要因素。我们相信推动自己变得更优秀。持续创新。持续成长。
而且，我们与Microsoft有很长的合作历史。我们的公司具有许多相同的基本原则。我们相信一个重视热情、质量、协作及创新的文化。当我回想起我们当初决定从单一的PC开发者，改变成为最早的Xbox制作《Morrowind》的时候，许多人都说此举简直匪夷所思……没人会愿意在主机上玩一款如此庞大又复杂的游戏。但是Microsoft相信我们，而您也一样。如今，各种形形色色、大小不一的RPG游戏都在主机平台上大获成功。
是的，对我们而言这次是个巨大的变化，但在花一些时间去消化这大规模的收购后，我们将能继续做我们所擅长且喜爱做的事情——制作出色的游戏。我们将会继续尝试新事物。我们会怀着同样的热情投入到我们的工作中，再加上玩家社区为我们的游戏所倾注的热情，我们想必能做得更好。
我们的对话很快就会从这笔交易再次转移到我们的游戏。而我也会来回答那些让我们都兴奋不已的提问。请告诉我更多《Deathloop》的内容。我什么时候才能看到更多《Ghostwire》的消息？《The Elder Scrolls Online》的第4季度将会有什么内容？我想看到更多《DOOM Eternal》的可下载内容。你到底什么时候才能告诉我《Starfield》的消息？这些对话都让我雀跃不已，我期待在未来的数周、数月甚至数年里与大家畅谈上述所有话题，并分享更多的内容。
我相信和我一起共事的人。我相信我们共同创建的公司。我相信基于我们的游戏而形成的玩家社区。我相信我们今天宣布的，仅仅是我们历史上一系列变化中的下一个，而这个变化将会为我们所有人带来内容更多、质量更棒的游戏。
Pete Hines
全球营销和传播高级副总裁
新闻稿
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.
