Xbox Boss Phil Spencer On ZeniMax Deal: “Our Plan Is To Leave It Alone”

One of the biggest gaming news stories of 2020 broke this week when Microsoft announced it would buy ZeniMax for $7.5 billion. People understandably have a lot of questions about the deal, and in particular, what it might mean for the future of ZeniMax and its subsidiary, Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently appeared on CNBC to discuss the deal. Asked directly if Microsoft would make any cuts to the company, Spencer replied, “Our plan is to leave it alone.”

“ZeniMax has an amazing track record of building great games. Our goal is to make ZeniMax the best ZeniMax they can be,” Spencer added. “Working individually with their studios on the great platform technology that we have and getting their creators’ feedback into the things we need to go build, that’s just a critical flywheel for us.”

Also in the interview, Spencer was asked what might happen to Bethesda’s Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, both of which have deals in place for PlayStation 5. He suggested that those deals will remain intact as they stand.

“The commitments we’ve already made with the gamers out there, for games people know about, we will continue with those commitments,” Spencer said.

Microsoft’s blockbuster acquisition of ZeniMax came out of nowhere. With the deal, Microsoft gets all of ZeniMax’s properties, including Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Doom, as well as every studio. You can check out GameSpot’s roundup of all the games and studios that Microsoft now owns.