In context: Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda was undoubtedly the most pregnant coup e'er pulled off by Xbox. Until the merger, Bethesda games were largely platform-doubter. In fact, fan-favorite The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is available on eight platforms, including PC, Nintendo Switch, and iii generations of PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

Now that Xbox has control of Bethesda, a meaning portion of the studio's fanbase is concerned they will never see another title once again on their chosen platform—namely the PlayStation. Last week, during Gamescom, Bethesda's Pete Hines and Xbox'southward Aaron Greenberg talked about the situation.

When posed with the question of whether PS fans would ever encounter another Bethesda game, Hines was noncommital, saying, "I have no thought how to state this in a manner when ... I don't know. I don't know the answer. It doesn't exist. It's non like I know it, and I just don't want to tell y'all. I don't know."

"If you can first to conceptualize down the route where deject can go, it starts to not care about what platform."—Bethesda's Pete Hines.

Greenberg was even more evasive, stating, "I want to exist careful. I know information technology's a question people intendance a lot nigh. It's also a tricky one for us to answer because, frankly, information technology tin become sensationalized on the internet."

While neither answer was sufficient to say whether Bethesda would ever release another PlayStation championship, some of their other responses were more revealing. Hines, who recently apologized to PlayStation v owners over Xbox exclusivity, pointed out at that place are even so Bethesda games on Sony's competing consoles.

"There are Xbox brands that exist on other platforms, first and foremost. I think that's important to note. Minecraft didn't just stop existing on anything once Mojang got bought past Xbox," Hines said. "It's a massively played game on all of these other platforms. It'southward not a, 'Sorry, yous're never going to get to play anything by Bethesda over again.' Certainly, there are going to be things that y'all're not going to exist able to play [on PlayStation]."


The only image we accept of The Elder Scrolls VI we have and then far.

Interestingly, Hines is specifically redirecting the topic to games that already be on multiple platforms. So to the question of whether PS fans will get to play Bethesda games on their PS5's, the respond seems to be, yes—equally long as the game already exists like Minecraft or Skyrim. Indeed, the studio recently announced a Skyrim remaster for next-gen consoles, including the PlayStation five. But clearly, this is non what was meant past the direct question.

Hines and Greenberg continued, expounding about how game streaming is changing the way we call up virtually platforms. Xbox's vision is to provide gaming on near whatsoever device as long every bit you take a controller. The company will nevertheless produce consoles, but the focus is shifting to Xbox Game Pass and game streaming.

"If you tin get-go to conceptualize down the road where cloud tin can go, it starts to not intendance most what platform. It just says, 'I'g an Xbox Game Pass cloud thing, and you lot can stream me on a thing if you've got a controller,'" Hines said. "The whole idea of it's either an Xbox thing or it'southward a PlayStation thing; I'thou not maxim that'southward gone abroad, but that's a lilliputian bit too 1990s, 2000. Information technology's a new era of gaming [today] existence everywhere."

Then the good news for PlayStation fans is that whether Starfield, TESVI, or any other title ever comes to shiny new PS5 or non, they tin ever subscribe to Game Pass and play them on their other devices. Alternatively, players could just buy or build a decent gaming PC and not worry about it.