Todd Howard: "The next generation is about access"

Bethesda Game Studios' director discusses the Microsoft acquisition, cloud gaming, and how Game Pass could boost IP that struggles at retail

[TGGJustin]

Reading some of what Todd says here future games might not be exclusive to Microsoft. They say something about how it would be hard to imagine Elder Scrolls 6 only being on Microsoft platforms and Todd says "it would be hard to imagine." He also talks about how they still plan to run things the way they have been and they want as many people to play their games as possible.

It could just be talk but until I actually hear that these future games won't be on PS5 I won't believe it. PS5 will have a much larger audience than Xbox again this gen you better believe it. I don't see them not putting those games on there. Microsoft could always do other things with them to entice people number one being that you can get them on game pass day 1. Could also bring them to PS5 a year or two later.

[Futureshark]

$7.5 billion is a HUGE investment.
I think if the shareholders are expected to see any return on that investment then MS would have to consider PS5 releases also, especially if PS5 hardware sales go to similar levels of PS4 (which if you look at the pre-order numbers then that's not hard to imagine).

[Sonyslave3]

Lol ms don't need ps5 to recoup that money smh why yall acting like this trillion dollar company might shut down over 7.5bil.

They were about to buy tik tok for 40bil cash and that nothing.

[Darkborn]

@Sonyslave3 but Xbox is a different division. That's why the shareholders for the entire generation were pissed and we kept hearing leaks of them stopping funding on certain things. Just because Microsoft makes money, it doesn't mean they want to keep around something that is slowly dying and just bleeding cash. A quick comparison is when Sony sold off their laptop company. They did it because it was just losing money for years, same as Microsoft before gamepass which might not be making so much money either.

[Christopher]

Comparatively, it's not. They spent almost half as much on Minecraft. This should have cost Microsoft a heck of a lot more on merchandising potential alone.

With the IP power of the company and merchandising behind their IP, Microsoft got an amazing deal. Fallout and Elder Scrolls make massive bank on merchandising.

[Sonyslave3]

Todd doesn't have a say lol it phil or ceo at ms that decide the ps5 fate and if you listen to Ms ceo he mention xb ecosystem.

[NEXUS-6]

The 'fate' of Sony is on Sony's hand, nothing ms or their acquisitions will alter that.

[Sonyslave3]

It up to Ms if Zenimax games comes to ps5 🙂

[anast]

It doesn't matter. . Just about everything they have been connected to has been jank. All things considered, I like Sony's odds in the game business.

[Viking_mo]

Tod does have a say. Go read the interview where Phil sat down with Tod before the purchase of the publisher how it happened.

[RedDevils]

Whatever I get it on Steam if it worth playing Bethesda games these day, and if turn out to be another fail Fallout, then they should keep it on xbox exclusively.

[Bender6502]

"PS5 will have a much larger audience than Xbox again this gen you better believe it"
If you had said 'larger audience on console', I wouldn't have posted, but you didn't. Sony, may well have a greater audience on console, but audience overall? Doubt that. People still haven't grasped the significance of what MS and others are doing.
And I suggest that 'new' Bethesda titles likely won't becoming to PS5. You better believe that.

[BrettAwesome]

Ok, Bender over.

[Mr_cheese]

@Sonyslave

Your comments are a little niave. Microsoft is a business with many divisions including XBOX and within those divisions, they want to see their profits increase to ensure they are worthwhile persuits.

You are correct that Microsoft own them and that they will already have plans in place be it predetermined contracts or what not that determine which platforms the games will come out on but do jot be fooled. 7.5 Billion is not pocket change, even for Microsoft. It is a huge investment which they will 100% like to see recouped sooner rather than later.

[shammgod]

History would indicate never to believe what this dude says. Hes a clown

[badz149]

shut up, Todd!

[ziggurcat]

"Reading some of what Todd says here future games might not be exclusive to Microsoft."

When you have Spencer saying that they'll take things on a case by case basis, and then later on saying that he doesn't have to ship to other platforms that they don't support in order to make the deal work for them, that's a pretty solid indicator that there will be exclusive games.

Don't let the PR speak fool you. Expect future Elder Scrolls, and Fallout games to only be on Xbox/PC.

[Nacho_Z]

Thing is though...why bother with ambiguous PR speak if they're all going to be exclusive. State clearly that they are, build hype and watch those Xboxes fly off the shelves. He ain't doing that.

[ziggurcat]

"Thing is though...why bother with ambiguous PR speak if they're all going to be exclusive"

Because he's stated that the deal isn't done yet, so he legally can't outright say anything one way or the other, but his ambiguity has pretty much pointed to those franchises no longer making any appearances on competing platforms. None of that applies to existing titles already released or any existing deals set in place prior to the acquisition, but I think he's been not-so-subtle about whether future/unannounced iterations would continue to release on those competing platforms going forward.

[DaveZero]

Me being a microsoft xbox Owners even I must admit that you make a purchase like that your going to have to make sure there is a return. You simply wont spend all that money on something not to see the product created for that franchise not reach full audiences and fetch in top whack money.

Making the games available on everything is what Microsoft will want to do, you only have to see there behaviour on how they want players to be able to play everything on anything to know how all this will end up. While some developers would be happy shutting out fan bases to certain games, I do not believe for one second MS wants any part of that. Ms have always said they wanted full delivery to all gamers of everything they have to be accessible by all and I do believe if MS had there way they would make everything accessible to all on every platform. Yes some might argue that they have there own exclusives and yes they do, they have to compete somewhere but I would say they do it at a minimum level, there end goal has always been accessibility. Whether you playing games from the past, present or the future, Microsoft want you to play there products on other platform developers consoles as well and that's fantastic for the gamer.

[OptimusDK]

If MS wanted games on gamepass there would be a much cheaper way to do this. That would not require 7.5 bill USD. But the problem is they can not say specificaly before the deal has gone though in 2021. As MS does not rightly own Zenimax at this point.

[Smclaren1985]

Good point nice to see someone who has done his homework. That is certainly true apparently it can take up to a year maybe more to go through

[dcbronco]

And yet Doom Eternal is on Game Pass along with several other Zenimax games.

[dcbronco]

Microsoft doesn't need Sony to reach most gamers. Most gamers have a PC. And I'm sure a lot of people saw the AMD presentation yesterday about their GPUs. People are forgetting these consoles have GPUs that will also be in laptops along with up sampling solutions. By 2022, just over a year away we'll have Ryzen 6000 CPUs and RDNA 3 GPUs in laptop APUs. Most people will have a netbook or laptop that can play these games at 1440p. Microsoft will have access to 70-80% of consumers without playstation. Zenimax games will not be on playstation. Plus Game Pass will have 20+ million subscribers. At 15 dollars each that gives Microsoft 300 million a month. That means one month covers the cost of 3 AAA games. The next month covers the cost of 3 AAA games and 6 A/Indie games. That means new content each month completely financed with less than two months revenue. And games take over a year to make. So these games will easily cover the cost of the acquisition by keeping Game Pass growing. At 20 million subscribers between Xbox and PC, which will be easy, Microsoft makes its money to finance everything it wants to do in gaming. That 3.6 billion a year. People that don't see how and why Microsoft will make a huge amount of money on this are just lying to themselves. This is why they will continue to spend billions acquiring new studios. Like Netflix, content on a service like Game Pass matters. And Microsoft will continue to pay for content because what AMD is creating with RDNA and Ryzen gives them access to the vast majority of the market without Sony.

[Smclaren1985]

🙄 WOW you want some lemon in your tea . You like it bitter?! Lol

[dcbronco]

What's bitter about it. You clowns that like to claim everything is bitter or angry need a new angle. I'm simply pointing out reality. Microsoft doesn't need Sony fanboys to support their games. Halo is one of the most successful franchises in the history of gaming and it was never on playstation. Gears has been extremely successful and has never been on playstation. You guys have an over inflated opinion of your importance to gaming. There are estimated to be over 2.5 billion gamers in the world. Please point out the playstation generation with the 2.5 billion install base. Most gamers are on phones and PC. Game Pass includes both btw.

[RedDevils]

He sound scare if Zenimax games are on PS5, like if Sony stole his kidney if it happen lol

[dcbronco]

@Red
You sound like you won't be playing anymore Zenimax games 😂

[DEEHULK88]

There are many devices to make a return on outside of PS. Millions and millions of PC,Android devices coupled with Xbox is enough. I am so sick of people acting you like have to put games on Playstation. Get a fkn PC if you want to play. I not sure that this generation will play out the same way the last on did, so it not a forgone conclusion that Sony will double install base again. They won't be on Playstation. People are really acting like they have to recoup on this investment asap. The timeline could be over a 5 or 10 year period and msybe there is no timeline for a company worth one trillion. Sick of this fnk question. If it's not on what you have, get what you need to play it.

[Bathyj]

"Game Pass could boost IP that struggles at retail"

While that's great for smaller titles that need exposure, the reality is it acts as an excuse for mediocrity. Let's not forget if it wasn't for the backlash you'd be playing the extremely underwhelming Halo infinite in 2 weeks and it would be ok because well it's on gamepass.

I don't know how many times I've heard people say a game looks average but they'll get it on gamepass.

[dcbronco]

Nonsense. A service like Game Pass means you have a guaranteed budget and you have time. You don't have to rush a AAA title because there are 23 studios looking to be the main game that month. Eventually there will be 30 studios looking to be the featured game in a given month. Which means you can take your time and get things right. You know Zenimax has 5 AAA titles to release, There's a Halo game coming and a Forza game and a Gears game and a Ori and State of Decay. There's no rush. Take your time, get everything right. Game Pass changes the schedule. You're no longer competing with everyone else to get to market. You've got teammates to go if you're not ready. And your budget is secured so that's no longer an issue.

[chronoforce]

It might be good for bigger games too lest we forget games like Dishonoured 2 and Prey 2 under performed at retail.

The backlash Halo received is pretty conclusive proof that bigger games regardless off whether they are on Game Pass need to deliver. A big AAA game like Halo being mid was never going to be acceptable under any circumstance but smaller games may get a pass because they on Game Pass but sometimes even they don't.

[garos82]

16 times more access

[solideagle]

Bathesda needs better engine, their games are too buggy. Maybe we are spoiled by witcher 3,

[Rainbowcookie]

Though that is true , i kinda found some of the glitches in fallout 4 and skyrim too be super funny.

[badz149]

they are not bugs, they are features!

[Profchaos]

Bethesda and more particularly id software has always had a very long history of making games run on hardware it shouldn't doom should not be running on SNES yet it was.

Think about that doom 2016 should not be running on switch yet it was.

Do we really imagine Bethesda and id have ever thought let's just target one platform

[ILostMyMind]

Of course he would say that. What else could he say now?

[mrsolidsteel20]

It’s going to be interesting to see how all of this turns out.

But when the deal is finalize, MS will have the final say on where their future titles will land.

Like always with MS, it’s the waiting game.

[ziggurcat]

I am pretty certain Spencer already telegraphed what their exact plans were, but people seem to be holding onto hope that Bethesda's larger franchises will still be going to any other system besides Xbox/PC.

[Father__Merrin]

It's so obvious Bethesda will still be self publishing. Can't believe people on here are setting themselfs up for utter dissapointment

[Deathdeliverer]

Microsoft as a whole is a money maker. Now if you look at each individual division you see that things aren’t rosy everywhere. The games division is one of Microsoft’s weaknesses in the grand scheme of things. Sony doesn’t have its hands on as many products that print money as Microsoft but same deal. They have different divisions, music, pictures, phones, games, etc. Games is a major win in profits for Sony. That’s how and why companies get out of one part of a business that isn’t getting the returns expected. They shutdown a division. Adjust their numbers and forecast. Move on.

Microsoft as a whole footed the bill on buying Zenimax. I highly doubt the games division could afford it on its own. (Divisions work like their own companies) Someone in the Xbox Division came with a plan and showed the value they saw from Zenimax. No matter how much money MICROSOFT as a whole makes, that deal put the Xbox division and whoever had something to do with that under the gun. They WILL have to make it worth its cost. Don’t know what the timeframe on recouping the money was but it’s obviously years. These years will be very telling of you ask me. If they start with all games being Xbox exclusive and you start seeing games on PS later, they probably determined just Xbox wasn’t profitable enough. Especially if games are exclusive for years then almost at the end of the gen they start popping up with definitive editions on PS. If they go exclusive and stay exclusive for this gen AND make no announcement for PS6 support on next gen then someone is getting promoted and sales must be great.
If it stays the way it’s always been, but they cherry pick a few games from the catalogue to be exclusive then that was the plan all along to recoup the money.

Bottom line, that’s how business works. This money has to be payed back. It’s not about “can Microsoft afford it.” It’s about can the Xbox division pay Microsoft back when it says it will.

[ooquis]

MS desperately needs games, so if they need to go exclusive they have my blessing.

[_LarZen_]

The games will be on Xbox consoles, PC, Android and iOS devices. And by all likelihood on AppleTV, Chromecast and other smart-sticks including SmartTV's.

Bethesda games will be fine without PlayStation.

[Melankolis]

On the contrary, i think the probability that Bethesda's games on PlayStation is bigger than they're on AppleTV, Stadia, or Luna.

[_LarZen_]

I think the chance of Microsoft releasing those games on PlayStation is as likely as Sony releasing theirs on Xbox.

[Melankolis]

(Chuckle)Well...whatever. That's fine with me. Never played nor interested in Bethesda's games anyway.
But i can't downvote you because i agree with you :
1. Bethesda will be fine without Playstation, and vice versa, Playstation will be fine without Bethesda.
2. Sony will not release their exclusives on Xbox. I take it you're implying this. I agree. But, by the way, you know Minecraft?.

[anast]

1000000xs the detail Tod. 76 is top shelf stuff...

[FlavorLav01]

That sounds sad for quality and scale on “next generation” games then

[CrimsonWing69]

This guy.

[Hitman007]

As Todd swims in his Scrooge Mcduck money pit just like on Ducktales 💰💰💰
28176;💰💰㈑ 6;💰

[RedDevils]

Except he gonna get blood nose trying to dive in those coins

[CaptainHenry916]

I think Microsoft should make all of Bethesda games exclusive to Xbox in my opinion. Competition is good for the industry and it will keep both companies on its toes. I would also like to see Sony develop it's own western RPG games to compete. I just find that more interesting. I would like to see Naughty Dog develop a RPG

[badz149]

I would love to see them TRY! you know...just for the sake of it.

[MadLad]

I think people are overestimating MS' need to recoup cost on the acquisition.

They're a trillion dollar company. Going by current Gamepass subscription numbers, it will bring in multiple billions of revenue, per year, as is, with that number only going to grow, and well, going forward.

Tie series like Fallout, Elder Scrolls, or even those had under companies like Id and Arkane purely under the Microsoft brand - Xbox/PC - that's going to be a lot of consoles sold, games sold, Gamepass subs purchased, and thus revenue had.

If you're looking long(ish) term, the acquisition would pay for itself in just a few years; even without putting it on other platforms.

I get that if you're looking to go purely Playstation this gen, you're really hoping you'll still have access to Bethesda's library. I'm also for more games on more platforms, which is why I like Sony's newfound interest in the PC market. I just think people are banking a little too hard on the idea that MS needs to bring these games to PC to recoup cost, because they really don't.

[Rainbowcookie]

Access to your.....bank accounts zing🤣

[XxINFERNUSxX]

Poopy

[Stormswrath4]

Microsoft and Bethesda have had deals on past Elder Scrolls titles which further leads me to believe future Bethesda titles will be console exclusives for microsoft because why spend 7.5 billion to keep things the way they already were. The only way The elder scrolls 6 appears on ps5 is if gamepass does.