Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently revealed that Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax was motivated by a desire to prevent PlayStation exclusivity of the highly anticipated RPG Starfield. In a conversation with the FTC about the Activision Blizzard acquisition, Spencer disclosed that Sony regularly pays competitors to exclude Xbox. To safeguard against this, Microsoft felt it necessary to purchase Bethesda and secure Starfield as an Xbox exclusive.

Speaking about the Zenimax acquisition, Spencer stated, “When we acquired ZeniMax, one of the impetus for that is that Sony had done a deal for Deathloop and Ghostwire… to pay Bethesda to not ship those games on Xbox. So the discussion about Starfield when we heard that Starfield was potentially also going to end up skipping Xbox, we can’t be in a position as a third-place console where we fall further behind on our content ownership, so we’ve had to secure content to remain viable in the business.”

Microsoft acquired Zenimax and its subsidiaries, including Bethesda, in 2021 for $7.5 billion. Following the deal, it was announced that some Bethesda games would be exclusive to Xbox and PC. Subsequently, Redfall was released as an Xbox/PC exclusive, and Starfield is also planned to be an exclusive title.

For more information on Phil Spencer’s FTC discussion, you can read our article on his comments regarding The Elder Scrolls 6’s platform and its distant release date, as well as Xbox’s potential harm if it reneged on PlayStation promises regarding Call of Duty. Please note that the product links in this article are independently chosen by our editors, and GameSpot may earn a portion of the sales revenue from purchases made through them.