REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — Microsoft is buying the company behind popular video games The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout.
The software giant said Monday that it is paying $7.5 billion for ZeniMax Media, the parent company of video game publisher Bethesda Softworks.
Microsoft said it is buying Bethesda in part to beef up its Xbox Game Pass game subscription service, which it says has over 15 million subscribers.
Bethesda games, such as Starfield, which is currently in development, will launch on Xbox Game Pass the same day they launch on Xbox or computers.
Microsoft has new consoles debuting on Nov. 10, the Xbox Series X and stripped down Series S version.