Game Pass has proven to be one of the most attractive incentives for buying an Xbox. Now that the Microsoft/ZeniMax purchase has gone through, the Game Pass lineup is about to get even better with 20 additional Bethesda games on Xbox.
Which Bethesda titles are coming to Game Pass?
Microsoft’s purchase of ZeniMax Media last year was a huge power move. The company announced this week that its acquisition of ZeniMax had been approved by US and EU regulators. This means Microsoft is free to put massive games from studios like Bethesda onto Xbox Game Pass – which is exactly what it’s doing.
Xbox posted on its blog that 20 iconic Bethesda games will be hitting Game Pass as soon as tomorrow. That’s March 12 in the US and should be available in Australia by tomorrow (March 13).
The games included are:
- Dishonored (Definitive Edition)
- Dishonored 2
- Doom (1993)
- Doom II
- Doom 3
- Doom 64
- Doom Eternal
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
- The Elder Scrolls Online
- The Evil Within
- Fallout 4
- Fallout 76
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Prey
- RAGE 2
- Wolfenstein: The New Order
- Wolfenstein: The Old Blood
- Wolfenstein: Youngblood
This is a pretty significant drop for Xbox Game Pass and encapsulates most of the major titles in the Bethesda catalogue. Game Pass subscribers will have instant access to all these games for as little as $10.95 a month.
16 of these games will be available on all three Game Pass platforms – console, PC and mobile devices via cloud streaming. The exclusions include Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which are on console and PC only. Fallout: New Vegas is only available on console and Elder Scrolls Online is cloud and console only.
Xbox also said that a few of these games will benefit from FPS Boost on the next-gen Xbox Series X/S consoles. FPS Boost has been proven to look great on older games like Far Cry 4 and Watch Dogs 2, so these games are sure to look even better on next-gen. Xbox said it would share details on which games are included soon.
Given Bethesda’s previous arrangement with next-gen exclusives on PS5, this acquisition has naturally raised some questions.
However, Microsoft said it would still honour deals between PlayStation and Bethesda for upcoming games such as Deathloop. But don’t be mistaken, this drop on Game Pass is just the beginning of Xbox’s plans for its latest acquisition.