If the European Commission authorizes the acquisition of Zenimax by Microsoft, the company will become part of Vault, a division with which they want to merge the owner of Bethesda.
Microsoft is waiting for the European Union, through the European Commission (EC), to authorize the purchase of Zenimax.
After announcing this move last September 2020, the Redmond company took another step in this acquisition process by requesting the EU antitrust regulators to study the legality of the operation to be concluded.
Thanks to a notification from the EC, we have learned that Microsoft intends to place Zenimax in a newly formed Vault subsidiary.
Microsoft, Zenimax, and the creation of Vault
Microsoft announced before the end of 2020 the acquisition of ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, for 7.5 billion dollars.
That makes sagas like Fallout, Doom, The Elder Scrolls, or Wolfenstein become part of Xbox Game Studios’ wings.
However, it seems that the firm has big plans for this acquisition, and it is the creation of a subsidiary called Vault in which Zenimax will be attached. We assume the name is a nod to Bethesda’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic Fallout saga.
This is how it is reflected in a record made by the EC with this process of purchase of Zenimax by Microsoft: “The concentration [between both companies] is achieved through a merger under which a newly created Microsoft subsidiary (“Vault”) will be merged with ZeniMax. ”
Simply put, it looks like Bethesda’s parent company will become its own company, Vault, under Microsoft’s control.
Vault, the new Microsoft subsidiary with which ZeniMax will merge
To conclude these moves and plans, Microsoft has to wait for the European Commission to approve the agreement with Zenimax to ensure that antitrust laws are not being violated.
The EC has until March 5 to authorize the acquisition or open an investigation if there are concerns related to this agreement’s nature.
In 2008 the European Commission approved the merger between Vivendi and Activision, which created the current Activision Blizzard, so the Redmond firm is expected to receive the green light.
If this purchase is finalized, Microsoft will open the doors of Xbox Game Studios to 8 new development teams: Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, ZeniMax Online Studios, Arkane, MachineGames, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog, and Roundhouse Studios.
Here we leave you an article about the 23 studios under the umbrella of Xbox Game Studios.