【2005 Archives】

Microsoft's messy merger with Activision Blizzard005 Archivesthe gift that keeps on giving.

While the company behind Windows and Xbox won the right to acquire the Call of Dutymaker courtesy of a July federal court ruling, internal Microsoft documents leaked as part of the technically-still-ongoing legal case gave us some juicy nuggets to work with. Namely, according to The Verge, Bethesda was working on remasters of popular games like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivionand Fallout 3 as recently as 2020, when that company was acquired by Microsoft.

Other listed projects include Doom: Year Zero, Dishonored 3, and a sequel to Ghostwire: Tokyo. A couple of things need to be noted here. First, these documents were created three years ago — before Microsoft closed the Bethesda deal. As is common with corporate mergers, some of these projects have possibly been at least altered, if not canceled entirely.

Second, if any of them are still in the works, there's no telling when we'll see them. There were dates on the documents like "fiscal year 2022" for the Oblivionremaster, but obviously that has long since come and gone. I'm not saying with any certainty that these projects have been thrown in the trash, but I amsaying it's worth considering the possibility, lest you wind up being disappointed down the line.

• 'Starfield' gathers 1 million concurrent players on launch day
• The best 'Starfield' traits and background to pick for your new character
• 'Starfield' glitch makes it hilariously easy to get a great spacesuit
• 'Starfield' has everything you could want, except a reason to keep playing
• 'Baldur's Gate 3' will come to Xbox this year, but with one caveat

Hey, at least you have Starfieldto tide you over until then, if "then" ever comes.

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