Christmas is around the corner, and Microsoft received an early gift: the buyout of ZeniMax (otherwise identified as the parent company of Bethesda Softworks). This came as a surprise to many who woke up the morning of September 21st to find out one of the biggest publishers in video game history will be under the Microsoft umbrella. While this was welcoming news (almost an early Christmas gift) for Xbox and Microsoft PC players, it was a metaphorical dagger in the back of Sony PlayStation players. The gaming world shook with the thunderous roar of a Dragonborn shout, but how will this affect Christmas sales?

There Will Be No Immediate Changes

Fortunately, there’s not going to be any immediate changes as the full acquisition of ZeniMax will not take place until the end of 2021. Any Playstation 5 Bundle timed exclusives published by Bethesda will also be honored by Microsoft, such as Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo.

What Does This Mean For The Future Of Big-Name Titles?

Sony and Microsoft have shared releases for big titles such as the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series. Unfortunately, it looks like Microsoft is going to have a bit more control over the titles and whether they’re going to allow Sony to release any future titles onto their systems. If anything, Microsoft will only release forthcoming titles onto their systems first (not necessarily as exclusives) before releasing them to Sony.

For example, imagine if The Elder Scrolls VI was released. Imagine the sales if Microsoft withheld the title from Sony until they’ve used it as leverage for gamers to purchase their PC or next-generation Xbox console.

What Other Titles Are Affected By This Acquisition?

With the deal closing by the end of 2021, Microsoft will have their hands on the Fallout Series, The Elder Scrolls series, the Doom series, and the Wolfenstein series. All of these titles have had simultaneous releases on both the PlayStation and Xbox systems. However, the most recent releases for these series, such as DOOM Eternal and Fallout 4 (we don’t count Fallout 76), maybe the last ones we see on the Sony PlayStation.

These are all universally beloved series and could mean a large amount of money is going into Microsoft’s pockets in what seems to be a monopolistic venture. Microsoft definitely needed a win after their debacle with the Halo Infinite release.

How Does Microsoft Buying Bethesda Affect Christmas Sales?

Halo Infinite was supposed to be a large draw for Microsoft’s Xbox Series X.

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic played a large role in pushing one of the biggest next-generation launch titles off indefinitely. It must have been a difficult decision for 343 Industries to make and one that Microsoft was most likely not happy with. Of course,

Microsoft had to do something in order to drum up enough hype to fill the hole that Halo

Infinite left behind. Sure, having Watch Dogs Legions a couple of days earlier than the PlayStation 5 and Dirt 5 are okay, but nothing is standing out as far as a title exclusive for the Xbox.

Fortunately, this news may have saved Christmas sales for the Xbox Series X. Many gamers may opt to purchase the Xbox Series X instead of the PlayStation 5 in anticipation of games like The Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield potentially being Xbox exclusives.

While there aren’t any direct implications of Microsoft acquiring Bethesda, the news alone may have saved their Christmas sales after all.