Why Buying Bethesda Could Put Xbox On Top

As you all probably know by now, Xbox have made the unprecedented move of acquiring Zenimax Media, the Parent Company of Bethesda, for $7.5 Billion. The announcement was made in the early hours of September 21st by Phil Spencer and is a huge play in lead up to next-gen. It’s also no coincidence that Xbox announced the move a day before pre-orders went live for the Series X & S. So, what does this all mean?

Firstly, it means that all of the studios under the Zenimax Studios banner will now be absorbed into Microsoft Studios, these include: Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog and Roundhouse Studios. This pushes the total amount of studios they own to 23. Some of the more notable IP’s that are now the sole property of Xbox now include:

Phil Spencer made specific reference to Bethesda’s upcoming title ‘Starfield’ in his post announcing the move (Image Source: GamesRadar)

• Elder Scrolls

• Fallout

• Doom

• Wolfenstein

• Quake

• Dishonored

• Rage

• Deathloop

• Ghostwire: Tokyo

• Prey

• The Evil Within

• Starfield

If you’ve been paying attention to the recent PlayStation 5 developments, you will notice that ‘Deathloop’ & ‘Ghostwire: Tokyo’ are actually PS5 Exclusives. Xbox have already said that they will honour those studios’ existing commitments to Sony, meaning that Xbox will be making games that are exclusive to their rivals’ platform, go figure.

On the flip side of this, the question on everybody's mind is how this will work with regards to exclusivity on future releases. Phil Spencer has said that games made by these studios will be on Xbox, Windows and ‘other consoles’ on a ‘case by case basis’. Looking at that list, you’ve got some of the most successful and instantly recognisable franchises in gaming, not even to mention Halo. If the the next Elder Scrolls or Fallout were to be Xbox Exclusive, that would definitely make a lot of people at least consider the platform. Having the best titles split between two platforms could become quite expensive, so that would really suck for those who can’t afford to run two paid platforms. However, if you did have to choose one or the other, Xbox make a very good case with their Game Pass & All Access programs.

Xbox’s Game Pass is now one of the best deals in gaming, and it’ll keep getting better (Image Source: The Verge)

Exclusives (or high quality ones at least) are something that Xbox had a major shortage of in the last Console generation, with Sony running away with AAA titles that up until now, made it the biggest player going into next-gen. But that has all been turned on its head within the space of a day. Suddenly, Xbox Game Pass has evolved into one of the best deals in gaming with those heavy hitting titles that will be available on Day One of release, you might never have to buy a game again. It looks like Microsoft is slowly turning Xbox into a paid subscription, almost Netflix-esque type of service. There are over 100 games there already and that will continue to grow, this acquisition has made it abundantly clear that Game Pass is the future of Xbox. With the inclusion of the All Access program, you can have a Series S, Game Pass Ultimate for 24 months & EA Play for £20.99/month, or a Series X for £28.99/month with the same perks. Neither of these have an upfront cost either, making it perfect for entry level players or those without the money to buy a new Console upfront. Even if you can afford all of the upfront costs, Game Pass/All Access can effectively pay for itself just by saving you the need to buy games individually.

Also, I don’t think that Xbox are at all interested in playing out an ‘Exclusives’ war with Sony, they certainly have the means to go toe-to-toe with some of those huge titles (The Last of Us, God of War, Horizon etc), but that doesn’t mean they have to force that choice on the consumer. Sometimes the best use of that kind of power, is to not use it at all, or at least in the way Sony is currently flexing their First-Party titles. Xbox could easily allow all of their property to be available on all of the other platforms, but make their platform the best to have it on. As with their other First-Party titles, Zenimax releases would (very likely) be available on the Game Pass from release, meaning that you don’t have to buy it and it’s just there straight away. If it’s available on PlayStation, but you have to fork out for it when you could effectively have it for free, it might as well be exclusive. Additionally, Xbox could have a staggered release window with those properties releasing first on the Xbox with Game Pass, then collect the revenue from other platforms. It’s a win-win for them.

Playstation does have it’s alternative, but it isn’t nearly as flushed out or well supported as might ought to be (Image Source: GamesRadar)

Another thing to note is that Phil Spencer has a well-known stance of not believing in Exclusives, he thinks they are bad for the industry. This approach would certainly make a lot of sense in that regard as they would not box anyone in (for the lack of a better phrase), they would just make their platform the best that it can be, irrespective of what titles Sony has. Moreover, they can use these titles as bargaining chips and completely breakdown the concept of Exclusives, industry-wide. If there are certain games that Sony want to just be on the PS5, Xbox can potentially use the likes of Doom, Elder Scrolls & Fallout as bargaining chips to keep other companies hogging properties.

If Xbox were to use this responsibly, which I think they will, this could be a great thing for gamers in general and maybe help to bring down some of those pay-walls for content that everybody should be able to play & enjoy. They might surprise me, they have every right to play hardball and battle it out with Sony with a duopoly of the best & biggest titles currently out there. But this would go against what they’ve been doing with their Game Pass & All Access programs and how they’ve acted on this subject up until now. This may put companies such as Steam in a difficult position, with those titles at their disposal, Game Pass could be a very viable alternative to a paid store front. Only time will tell how they respond to this, or if rumours of an agreement between the two materialise.

There is also the subject of Sony, how do they respond to this? Do they continue with their current strategy, or do they start to prioritise Playstation Now in the same way that Xbox do with Game Pass? This could spark a new trend of Studios being founded and aggressively snapped up by either Microsoft or Sony, which could heavily limit the amount of independent game titles in the future.

What we do know is that this is one of the biggest power-plays the industry has ever seen and is sure to turn more than a few heads towards the Xbox Series X & S, especially over time.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, Surface Pro 7 & Surface Pro X - Unveiled!

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So Microsoft just had their Surface Event in New York, and being a Surface user myself, and the only non-Apple user in the office, I decided to give it a watch to see what Microsoft had done to improve on the Surface lineup.

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SURFACE LAPTOP 3

First off, let's talk Laptops. In terms of design, it doesn't seem that Microsoft is straying too far from what they currently have, which I am not complaining about. We are getting a larger 15” model as well as an improved 13.5” one. We’re getting 20% larger trackpad than we had on the Surface Laptop 2. Personally, I don't think that the trackpad was too small on the 2 but it would be good to have a larger one for sure, so I’m looking forward to that. And finally in terms of the chassis, Microsoft have removed the rubber bumper from around the screen on the aluminium models, making it the first metal bodied laptop to do so, what impact this will have on the screen we will have to wait and see, as that rubber bumper is there to protect the screen when you close the laptop.

The new Surface Laptop 3 is now modular, with a removable keyboard to access the hardware inside (Source: Microsoft)

But this is one of the things that Microsoft wanted to highlight as not an additional thing that draws you in, but the removal of something which draws you in, and speaking of removal, the Surface is now modular! As shown at the event, the top can be removed in order to access the hardware underneath, improving user reparability without impacting the design of the device which is really cool.

When it comes to performance, Microsoft have also raised the stakes here with the inclusion of an Intel Quad Core 10th Gen Processor, which they claim will make it two times faster than the two, which had the 8th Gen Quad-Core Processor, and 3 times faster than a MacBook Air, which uses an 8th Gen Dual-Core i5 Y Series. In addition Microsoft have collaborated with AMD to bring the AMD Ryzen Surface Edition to life, which gives it the fastest graphic performance of any laptop in it’s (the Surface Laptop 3) class.

Fast charge is now on all Surface products, claiming 80% in less than an hour (Source: Microsoft)

One last thing I want to cover with the Surface Laptop 3 is the battery life. I personally have never had an issue with the battery on my Surface Laptop 2, and this time round Microsoft is claiming that same all day battery life that I’ve seen on the 2. However, what will be coming to the 3 is fast charging! Microsoft says that it would be able to charge the 3 to 80% in less than an hour which is as fast as some smartphones on the market right now, which is just crazy and I am intrigued to see if it lives up to that bold statement.

Microsoft have said that the Surface Laptop 3 is available to pre-order now, with the 13.5” starting from $999, and the 15” from $1,199, and will launch on the 22nd of October.

SURFACE PRO 7

But it wasn't just the Laptop that I was interested in at this event. As some of you know we not only covered the Surface Laptop 2 on the channel, but also the Surface Pro 6, so what have Microsoft announced with the Surface Pro 7?

The Surface Pro 7 (Source: Microsoft)

Well, not a lot really. We’re getting the same 12.3” display as the Surface Pro 6, along with the familiar Surface Type Keyboard and Pen which also seem to have little upgrade. We do get new studio mics, which also come on the Laptop 3, for improved dictation and calls. It does also come with the 10th Gen Intel Processors, but that’s about it for improved internals. We also get the same fast charging capabilities that the Laptop has as well, however, according to the tech spec sheet for the Surface Pro 7, it will only have up to 10.5 hours of battery life which is a downgrade of 3 hours from the Surface Pro 6? Whether or not you see fast charging as a decent trade off for a reduced overall daily battery life is down to you, but personally I don't think it is.

The Surface Pro 7 is also available for preorder now, with a launch date of the 22nd of October, starting from $749.

SURFACE PRO X

So Microsoft doesn’t seem to have done much with the Surface Pro 7, but that could be because of the newly announced Surface Pro X, which is only available in Matte Black.

The Surface Pro X, featuring the new 13” edge to edge display (Source: Microsoft)

Microsoft’s tagline to this device is “Mobility. Productivity. Speed.” and seeing as it’s just 5.3mm thin at its thinnest point I can certainly see how the mobility part of this plays in. It comes with a 13” (2880 x 1920) edge to edge display whilst still fitting into the same form factor as the Surface Pro 7.

In addition to the mobility you also have a 13 hour battery life on this, coupled with fast charging as well. This seems like it would be a great little device for creatives to be using when out and about it pen and paper isn't your style.

The Pen can be placed in a small nook when not in use, which will also recharge it (Source: Microsoft)

Speaking of the pen, the stylus that Microsoft recommends with this, although it's sold separately, is its new thin design which hides away in a little nook in the keyboard (also sold separately) so that when its clicked in the tilted position the pen is invisible. Personally, I think this way of integrating the pen is a great design choice, but whether or not the flat style pen will be comfortable to use for prolonged periods of time? I have my doubts.

It also allows for custom processors, meaning that you could really make this thing your own, and it's almost a hybrid of the modularity of the Laptop with the form factor of the Pro, which is just incredible to see being done!

And finally for the Pro X, it now comes with LTE connectivity, thanks to Microsoft's own SQ1 Chipset. We have seen this on some laptops already and basically what this means is that you can use your tablet to answer emails and search the web for the next piece of inspiration, much like you would do with a mobile, and that really seems to be what Microsoft is shooting for with this thing. Whether or not it matches up is a different question for a different video and article.

Just like the other devices, it is available to preorder now and will launch on the 22nd, starting from $999.

CONCLUSION

To conclude it seems like we are getting some really impressive upgrades with the Surface Laptop 3 and Surface Pro X. I feel that maybe because of the announcement of the Surface Pro X the Surface Pro 7 has been left a little lacklustre, with not a huge amount going for it over its predecessor bar the upgraded processor.