Items tagged with zenimax
Bethesda finally revealed a trailer for its upcoming game Starfield during E3. The reveal was accompanied by a few details about the game's aesthetic, play style, and release date. Unfortunately, it was also noted that Starfield will not be available on the Playstation 5. Representatives from Bethesda have issued an apology that Starfield will not be playable on the PS5 but has maintained that this policy will not change. The apology was issued through an interview with Pete Hines, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications at Bethesda. Hines stated that he was sympathetic toward disappointed fans. He remarked, “If you're a big fan of the stuff we make and a game...
Read more...
Earlier in the week, we reported that Microsoft got the green light from the SEC and European Commission to purchase ZeniMax Media and all the sub-development studios. It seems Microsoft is moving rather quickly on the acquisition as some ZeniMax Media games will be coming to Xbox Game Pass tomorrow. As Will Tuttle, Xbox Wire editor in chief, explains, this week, Xbox and Microsoft “welcomed ZeniMax Media and Bethesda to the Xbox family, adding even more incredible talent, creative diversity, and beloved gaming franchises to an already stacked Xbox lineup.” While it may not be the best situation for gamers on Sony’s PlayStation lineup, it means greener pastures for Xbox...
Read more...
Yesterday, we reported that Microsoft gained regulatory approval from the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the European Commission to acquire ZeniMax. For those not in the know, ZeniMax has several wildly popular game franchises under its umbrella, including DOOM, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. At the time, we wondered what the deal would mean for game exclusivity on consoles going forward. Undoubtedly, Microsoft wouldn't be entering into this $7.5 billion deal without looking to drive some gamers (and hence revenue) to its Xbox Series S/X consoles and PC platform. Today, we're getting confirmation that not all future games will be available on the competing...
Read more...
Late last year, Microsoft announced a deal to buy ZeniMax Media and subsidiary Bethesda Studios with IPs such as Fallout, DOOM, and The Elder Scrolls franchises. The $7.5 billion deal would also include id Software, Arkane, MachineGames, and others. Now, Microsoft is one step closer to sealing the deal as both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and European Commission have given the green light. On March 4th, the SEC posted both a notice of effectiveness and a prospectus, meaning that the SEC has reviewed the deal in full and found no issues. Today, the European Commission also agreed with the SEC, explaining that "the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns, given...
Read more...
Facebook has been fighting a legal battle with its Oculus arm against ZeniMax for a while now. In February 2017, Facebook's Oculus was ordered to pay ZeniMax $500 million for patent infringement. With that sort of money on the line, Facebook and Oculus appealed the decision. A new ruling in the case has been handed down and Facebook came out on top this time. The ruling sees the $500 million award given to ZeniMax halved to $250 million. U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas, TX also rejected a request by ZeniMax that sales of Oculus VR headsets be banned in the U.S. The ZeniMax and Oculus legal drama started way back in 2014 shortly after Facebook acquired the Oculus. ZeniMax at the time...
Read more...
ZeniMax scored a big payday as a result of its lawsuit against Oculus, ultimately winning a $500 million award from the Facebook-owned VR company and its co-founders Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe. Now ZeniMax is turning its attention to Samsung and its Gear VR headset, claiming that the company is profiting from Oculus technology that was first developed at ZeniMax. Samsung often advertises its Gear VR as being powered by Oculus, and therein lies the trouble. According to the lawsuit, Samsung either knew or should have known that the technology used in its Gear VR headset was developed at ZeniMax and misappropriated by Oculus executive John Carmack, whose company id Software was acquired by...
Read more...
Are you ready to be swept up into the lies, deceit, and treachery of Morrowind Great House politics? The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind trailer was just released and offers a glimpse of the “cutthroat clan-feuds of Vvardenfell” and the Morag Tong assassins. The Elder Scrolls Online’s latest chapters returns to the island of Vvardenfell, seven hundred years before the events of The Elder Scrolls Three: Morrowind. Gamers will be able to prevent a meteor from crashing onto Vivec City by helping a demigod to regain his power. They will also be able to partner with a Morag Tong assassin who will guide them through the politics of Morrowind. Gamers will also have the option of embracing a new class,...
Read more...
Co-Founder Palmer Luckey And CEO Iribe To Pay $50M And $150M Respectively ZeniMax on Wednesday won a $500 million award in its lawsuit against Oculus. Mark Zuckerberg's testimony was not enough to fully sway the jury, which sided with ZeniMax and found that Oculus executives broke a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) when the Oculus Rift was in its beginning stages. However, the jury also decided that Oculus did not misappropriate trade secrets as ZeniMax alleged in its lawsuit. Oculus is on the hook for more than half of the $500 million award—it owes ZeniMax $200 million for breaking the NDA, $50 million for copyright infringement, and another $50 million for false designation. Oculus co-founder...
Read more...
One of the perks of being the billionaire co-founder of Facebook is being able to show up at work in t-shirt. Of course, there are times when Mark Zuckerberg chooses to dress up. Such was the case when he took the stand in a federal courtroom earlier this week to defend against allegations that Oculus stole technical information that went into the creation of the Rift headset. "We are highly confident that Oculus products are built on Oculus technology. The idea that Oculus products are based on someone else’s technology is just wrong," Zuckerberg said according to The New York Times, which noted that he wore a suit and tie when testifying rather than his typical attire of a t-shirt and jeans.Mark...
Read more...
John Carmack’s former employer, Zenimax, went after the industry veteran last week claiming that important code that he used in helping to build the Oculus Rift VR headset is actually IP owned by Zenimax. The company also stated that it provided VR technology to Oculus VR’s Palmer Luckey and others over the past couple of years in support of the Oculus Rift’s development. Carmack fired back on Twitter and Oculus VR denied the claims at the outset, but the company now has an official response. We present it in bulleted form because that’s how Oculus VR sent it to us. -There is not a line of Zenimax code or any of its technology in any Oculus products. -John Carmack did...
Read more...
Yeesh. One has to wonder: "Can't we all just get along?" Evidently not, as John Carmack (yes, that John Carmack) is now staring down a lawsuit from his previous employer, which suggests that he stole precious information on his way out. Carmack has of course landed at Oculus, which has since been acquired by Facebook prior to the Rift virtual reality headset ever truly launching to the public. Clearly, Oculus has blown up big, while Zenimax (Carmack's previous employer) has seen much less of the limelight. Reports suggest that Carmack is facing a suit which alleges that he stole intellectual property and then used it to power Oculus Rift. In essence, Zenimax suggests that property belonging to...
Read more...
The big daddy of all 3D FPS game studios, id Software, has been acquired by ZeniMax Media - the media company run by Jerry Bruckheimer (himself), Robert Altman (not that one) and Harry Sloan (CEO of MGM). As a result of being brought into the Zenimax fold, the id Software franchises will be published under the Bethesda Softworks label, and games development will be done under one roof, as John Carmack has put it. This means Fallout 3, Quake, Doom and Elder Scrolls IV as one big happy family. Activision will retain the Wolfenstein distribution, though. The sale isn't a fortuitous alignment of stars in the night sky or a bet lost at poker, id Software is using this to get ahead of the game when...
Read more...
