Bloomberg has published an intriguing article that delves into the background of ZeniMax Media Chairman and CEO, Robert A. Altman, who has reportedly benefitted significantly from the recent Microsoft deal. Both Altman and Bethesda co-founder Christopher Weaver owned approximately 30 percent stake each, which means they’ve made out quite well.
Towards the end of the article, Bloomberg revealed that Altman had been considering selling ZeniMax for a number of years as the company’s value continued to rise. At one point in time, he was apparently close to selling the business to Electronic Arts.
The publication didn’t explain why those talks fell through, and it looks like Altman wants to keep mum about it. He also declined to comment on the specifics of the recent Microsoft acquisition.
Just the thought of an EA acquisition evoked negative responses from readers despite the fact that ZeniMax’s sale to Microsoft means Sony will potentially lose out on some major titles going forward. One such title is rumored to be Starfield.
Although Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said that video game releases on platforms outside of the Xbox ecosystem will be decided on a case-by-case basis, he was quick to remind fans that an acquisition of this nature won’t come without a fair share of exclusives for the Xbox and PC.
“This is a huge investment in the experiences they are gonna have in the Xbox ecosystem,” Spencer told Yahoo Finance. “And we want the Xbox ecosystem to absolutely be the best place to play, and we think game availability is absolutely part of that.”
What do our readers think?
[Source: Bloomberg via ResetEra]