By Dina Bass and Jason Schreier

Dina Bass和Jason Schreier

Microsoft Corp. said Monday it plans to acquire ZeniMax Media Inc., owner of the storied video-game publisher Bethesda Softworks, for $7.5 billion in cash, marking its biggest video game purchase ever.

微软周一表示，计划以75亿美元现金收购传奇视频游戏发行商Bethesda Softworks的所有者ZeniMax Media Inc.，这是有史以来最大的视频游戏购买交易。

Bethesda is the publisher of games like The Elder Scrolls, Doom and Fallout and also has at least two titles slated for debut next year. ZeniMax, based in Rockville, Maryland, also owns several other studios across the globe, giving Microsoft’s Xbox business a much-needed infusion of titles and game developers. It’s one of the biggest privately-held game companies with 2,300 employees worldwide, Microsoft said.

贝塞斯达(Bethesda)是《上古卷轴》(The Elder Scrolls)，《毁灭战士》(Doom)和《辐射(Fallout)》等游戏的发行商，并且至少有两个游戏定于明年上市。 ZeniMax总部位于马里兰州罗克维尔，在全球范围内还拥有其他几家工作室，为微软的Xbox业务提供了急需的游戏和游戏开发商产品。 微软表示，它是全球最大的私人游戏公司之一，在全球拥有2,300名员工。

Microsoft is launching a new generation of Xbox consoles in November at the same time as Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 5. The games lined up for the new Xbox have so far disappointed some players, especially after Microsoft delayed its biggest title, Halo Infinite, until next year. The software maker has been adding new game creators and content, including acquiring six studios in 2018 and one last year. It spent $2.5 billion to purchase the maker of Minecraft in 2014.

微软将在11月与Sony Corp.的PlayStation 5同时发布新一代Xbox游戏机。迄今为止，为新Xbox排队的游戏令一些玩家感到失望，尤其是在微软推迟了其最大游戏《光晕无限》(Halo Infinite)，直到明年。 这家软件制造商一直在增加新的游戏创作者和内容，包括在2018年和去年收购了六个工作室。 它在2014年斥资25亿美元收购了《我的世界》的制造商。

Microsoft is leaning on its game subscription service, Game Pass, to draw in users and boost revenue and needs compelling content to attract customers to that product. Microsoft said Game Pass now has 15 million subscribers, up from the 10 million it announced in April.

微软依靠其游戏订阅服务Game Pass吸引用户并增加收入，并需要吸引人的内容来吸引客户使用该产品。 微软表示，Game Pass现在拥有1500万订户，高于4月份宣布的1000万订户。

“Bethesda’s games have always had a special place on Xbox and in the hearts of millions of gamers around the world,” said Xbox chief Phil Spencer in a blog post. “Our teams have a close and storied history working together.”

“Bethesda的游戏总是对Xbox和在全球数百万玩家的心中特殊的地位，”首席的Xbox菲尔斯宾塞在博客中称后。 “我们的团队有着紧密的合作历史。”

Recently however, Bethesda has been working more tightly with Sony. Bethesda had previously agreed to debut two of its upcoming games, Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo, on Sony’s new PlayStation rather than Xbox. Both games were announced as “timed console exclusives,” meaning that they would be restricted to the PlayStation 5 for a fixed period of time before coming to Xbox. It remains to be seen how this acquisition will affect that deal.

但是，最近，贝塞斯达一直与索尼紧密合作。 贝塞斯达此前已同意在索尼的新PlayStation而非Xbox上推出即将面世的两款游戏，分别是Deathloop和Ghostwire：东京。 这两款游戏都被宣布为“定时游戏机独占”，这意味着在进入Xbox之前，它们将在一段时间内仅限于PlayStation 5。 此次收购将如何影响这一交易还有待观察。

Microsoft expects the deal to close in the second half of its fiscal year 2021, which ends June 30, and to have “minimal” impact on its adjusted operating income for the current and next fiscal years. The shares were down 1.4% to $197.66 at 9:35 a.m. in New York.

微软预计，这笔交易将在2021财年下半年(6月30日结束)之前完成，并将对其当前和下一个财年的调整后营业收入产生“最小”影响。 纽约时间上午9:35，该股下跌1.4％，至197.66美元。

Sony’s launch lineup for the PlayStation 5 is stronger than Microsoft’s and that machine is expected to outsell the new Xbox devices, the Series X and Series S, according to George Jijiashvili, an analyst at researcher Omdia.

研究员Omdia的分析师George Jijiashvili表示，索尼在PlayStation 5上的发布阵容要强于微软，并且该机器的销量有望超过新的Xbox系列X和SeriesS。

Bethesda was a pioneer in the market for personal computer games and an early developer of new types of games. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 and initially developed football and hockey simulation games, before releasing role-playing title The Elder Scrolls in 1994.

贝塞斯达(Bethesda)是个人电脑游戏市场的先驱，也是新型游戏的早期开发商。 该公司由克里斯托弗·韦弗(Christopher Weaver)于1986年创立，最初开发了足球和曲棍球模拟游戏，然后于1994年发布了角色扮演游戏《上古卷轴》。

ZeniMax was founded in 1999 by Weaver and Robert Altman, the company’s chief executive officer, to serve as a parent company for Bethesda. Over the next decade, it acquired the Fallout franchise and Id Software, the maker of Doom and Quake. Bethesda’s structure and leadership will remain in place, Microsoft said.

ZeniMax由Weaver和公司首席执行官Robert Altman于1999年成立，当时是Bethesda的母公司。 在接下来的十年中，它收购了Fallout特许经营权和Doom and Quake的制造商Id Software。 微软表示，贝塞斯达的结构和领导地位将保持不变。