SEC Approved Bethesda Purchase From Microsoft

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the purchase of Microsoft Bethesda, which will bring the publisher and all of its studios into the Xbox family. It was one of the last hurdles to close the acquisition, but Bethesda is not yet part of the Xbox.

The SEC this week posted an “effectiveness notice” of the transaction on its website. If you’re unfamiliar with SEC filings, it doesn’t really mean much on the surface, but this advice is used when the SEC accepts a business registration. The “S-4” on the page means it’s related to a merger or acquisition, and if you look at the associated documents for this notice, Microsoft’s registration amount is $ 7.5 billion. This is the amount agreed upon in the transaction last year.

The SEC approval actually comes as we expected to hear a word from the European Commission, the other major regulator that could end this deal. He was due to render a decision by March 5, although he does not appear to have made it public yet, assuming the decision has not been postponed outright. Assuming this gets approved, it shouldn’t be long before the companies officially work together.

That doesn’t mean PlayStation fans will be immediately left in the dust, however. The next Deathloop game will actually launch as an exclusive PlayStation console, as the deal was made before Microsoft acquired it, and Microsoft is respecting it. It will be at least a year before the game is released on Xbox or other platforms. Future games are more in the air, although it would certainly make sense for big franchises like The Elder Scrolls and Doom to become exclusive to Microsoft in order to attract more gamers.