For awhile I made a strong case why many of the games would stay multiplat or at least go to PlayStation later. I'm not buying what I was trying to sell earlier. They're all exclusive. There's two things I cannot overcome in terms of porting Bethesda games:
- Bethesda is a strategic purchase. Not meant to turn profits directly. It was purchased solely and specifically to drive Game Pass subs. This is not up for debate. It's on record. Satya is on record.
- Satya's compensation bonus for fiscal year 2021 includes Game Pass growth. Not gaming revenue. The head of Microsoft's compensation bonuses are directly tied to the major initiatives within Microsoft. These things are what will impact stock price. If Microsoft doesn't hit their Game Pass sub goals after they green-lit a 7.5 billion dollar purchase because they decided to put those games on the competitors platforms, heads will roll within the Xbox division.
They are not trying to recoup the cost of Bethesda with Bethesda game sales. They made the purchase of Bethesda to drive their platform. It's a long term strategy with aggressive short term goals attached. Game Pass subs take precedent over any other gaming revenue goals in 2021.