Microsoft buying Bethesda is a net negative in the same way Disney buying Fox is a net negative, but just wait for the thrilled exclamations of "Doomguy and Master Chief can fight now"

To be absolutely crystal clear here: I do not give a fuck if Doomguy and Master Chief fight, just as I do not give a fuck if the X-Men meet the Avengers, as was the big dumb fan "hooray" moment with the Disney/Fox acquisition. These huge acquisitions are bad for the world

"But but but now Obsidian might get access to the Fallout license!"

And all we had to sacrifice was the independence of multiple studios in favour of an immense mega-corporation! I'm sure the winking anti-corporate jokes in that Fallout game will REALLY tweak Microsoft's nose

I'm sure this'll pump more resources into Bethesda's studios, and hopefully it means good things (or at least no bad things) for the folks working there.

But on a larger scale it's a further step towards like 5 companies producing all of your entertainment, which is...not good

"What does this mean for me, a consumer of entertainment" is such a small-minded way of looking at these multi-billion-dollar industry shifts. I get it - why worry about issues that don't directly concern you? - but these companies count on people not seeing the bigger picture.

The Microsoft/Bethesda purchase feels like it sets a major precedent for any studio/publisher smaller than EA or Activision, basically, being purchased by one of the platform holders. It's really, intensely icky.