European Commission to rule on Microsoft acquiring ZeniMax Media by March 5

What you need to know

• In September 2020, Microsoft announced it intended to acquire ZeniMax Media, parent company of Bethesda Softworks.
• This kind of acquisition takes time, with multiple government agencies checking and approving everything.
• The European Commission is set to grant its decision by March 5.

The European Commission is set to make a decision on Microsoft acquiring ZeniMax Media by March 5, a new report shows. Per the filing, the listing was first filed on January 29, with the council committing to grant a decision by March 5.

Compared to many other acquisitions that are checked, this span of just a few weeks until a decision is actually a very short amount of time. One large company being acquired by another is a process that takes a fair bit of time, with regulatory review from multiple agencies across different countries. There's still other regulations that have to be filed and things that need to be checked but this is an important step for Microsoft to take in ZeniMax Media as part of its gaming business.

ZeniMax Media is the parent company Bethesda Softworks, which operates eight game distinct game development studios responsible for franchises like The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Wolfenstein, Dishonored and many more. Xbox Game Studios consists of 15 game development studios and with the addition of Bethesda Softworks, Xbox first-party will grow to 23 studios. All of Bethesda's games will launch in Xbox Game Pass at release, which has grown to over 18 million subscribers.

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