The news of Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax was a surprise to many, and this includes the developers at Arkane who are working on the PS5 timed-exclusive Deathloop. Game director Dinga Bakaba told Press Start that it took some time to make sense of the buyout, but he has since come around and is also a believer in Game Pass.
“It was pretty surprising, I would say,” Bakaba said. “It was unexpected, to an extent… [but] after the surprise, it made a lot of sense. We are very creative, driven and we really care about doing games that are original, that have a lot of personality and style.”
Bakaba said one part of the deal that is intriguing and special is that it means more people can play Arkane’s games more easily through Game Pass.
“Being able to be apart of the Xbox Game Pass ecosystem makes things a bit different for us, because we can occupy a space in that service, and we will continue to make the kind of games that we make and make them well,” Bakaba said.
Arkane’s Prey, along with Dishonored and Dishonored 2, are now on Game Pass. Bakaba observed that he’s seen more chatter about these games online thanks to their inclusion on Game Pass.
“A lot of people are saying that you need to play these games and have no excuse not to, so it’s been very encouraging,” Bakaba said. “It’s a service that will allow us to remain creative and have the audience and build that relationship over time and that’s really exciting.”
Despite Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax and all of its subsidiaries–including Arkane–Deathloop will continue to be a timed exclusive on PS5. Microsoft is honoring arrangements that were made before the acquisition, and this covers Deathloop. Going forward, however, Microsoft plans to only release new Bethesda games on platforms that support Game Pass.
Deathloop launches on May 21 for PS5 and PC. It’s possible Deathloop could come to other platforms later, but this has not been confirmed.
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