The future of Bethesda games releasing on PS5 and Nintendo Switch is now in question according to a new report, although existing plans to brings Ghostwire: Tokyo and Deathloop to PS5 remain firm. However, we could still see series such as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls on PlayStation and Nintendo consoles, too
Earlier today, Microsoft made the surprising announcement that it’s acquiring Zenimax and Bethesda Softworks, a move that will massively expand its game library in the coming years. This move puts many of gaming’s most popular franchises under the Microsoft umbrella for a staggering $7.5 billion.
Bethesda games could come to PS5 and Switch on a “case-by-case basis”
Xbox Head Phil Spencer has told Bloomberg’s Dina Bass that the PS5 exclusivity commitment for Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo will remain in place as previously planned. If you were looking forward to either of those games, you have nothing to worry about. The future, however, is a little less certain.
“Future Bethesda games will be on Xbox, PC, and ‘other consoles on a case-by-case basis’,” Jason Schreier added to the original Bloomberg report.
What does this mean for the future of Bethesda PS5 games? At the minimum, Microsoft wants to drive people to its Xbox Game Pass Ultimate service, and that’s precisely why all future Bethesda titles will be launching as part of Game Pass on day one. That makes it unlikely that we’d see any of these games launch as part of PS Plus, although they could come to the service earlier.
The larger concern, however, is that Bethesda games might come to PS5 at a later date than Xbox consoles — or not at all. Microsoft has been careful not to announce any firm plans, but there are at least two big Bethesda games in the works: The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield. It’s entirely possible that either or both of these games could be Xbox exclusives. Lest we forget, another Fallout game is likely planned for the future, too — and that might not come to PS5 or Nintendo Switch, either.
Keeping Bethesda games off of the PS5 and Nintendo Switch would certainly be a tempting move for Microsoft. Nothing is certain, though — after all, Microsoft subsidiary Obsidian Entertainment did release The Outer Worlds on the PS4. It came to the Switch at a later date, but that delay was likely due to technical challenges more than anything else.
Yesterday, there was absolutely zero doubt that we’d see The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield, and the next Fallout game come to PS5 and Nintendo Switch. Now, that future isn’t quite so certain. With the next console generation getting ready to kick off, it’s just become a lot more difficult to decide which console you should buy.
