5 Dream Games That Are Now Possible Thanks to Microsoft Acquiring Bethesda

Fallout New Vegas 2

Bethesda Game Studios and Obsidian Entertainment are back in the same boat, hand-in-hand, eyeing up a small fire ant as they fire up their VATS. You’re god damn right we’re talking about some strange, metaphorical version of Fallout New Vegas 2, and following Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax Media yesterday, it could actually become a reality!

To add further fuel to the fire, Obsidian Entertainment tweeted this out yesterday.

Fallout New Vegas quickly became a fan favorite when it released in 2010. Players took control of a character known as the Courier, who is ambushed while transporting a package across the Mojave Desert to the city of New Vegas.

With all the usual Fallout goodness in there — excellent writing, fantastic quest design, and a sprawling treasure trove of an open world — New Vegas’ story and characters were what really made it stand out, even against the mainline entry in Fallout 3 that had released the year prior.

Now nearly two console generations later, Bethesda and Obsidian can give fans the sequel they’ve been waiting a decade for. Let’s just hope it doesn’t take another decade to hit our screens.

A Halo x DOOM Crossover

Both Master Chief and DOOM Guy love their big, bulky suits of armor. The futuristic tech packed inside these metal silhouettes drive our heroes through hundreds, if not thousands, of enemies throughout a campaign, protecting them from the peppering of enemy fire.

Alas, the big, bulky suits and sci-fi settings are pretty much where the similarities end between the two. Halo’s slower-paced gameplay works well with its less-demanding onslaught of enemies, while DOOM’s fast-paced action is required to survive the neverending waves of demons trying to rip your face off.

So what better way to spruce up either series by crossing them over. The most logical in our head would see the two characters come together in some strange, lore-meshing adventure that sees you alternating between the two. In turn, the gameplay changes. Fast-paced with DOOM Guy, and a slower-paced Halo affair with Master Chief.

But then think about tearing through tons and tons of Grunts, Jackals and Brutes at breakneck speed as DOOM Guy, as the Halo Array lingers in the skies above. Oh, and you know we want to obliterate a room of Grunts with a BFG.

Make it happen Microsoft!

Mash-up Party Games

When it comes to party games, the Nintendo Switch rules the roost. Nintendo consoles have always been synonymous with party games, be it Mario Kart Mario Party, or the Super Smash Bros. series.

The one lynchpin holding them all together, however, is an iconic cast of characters for players to choose from. The dungaree-clad plumber and all his pals are instantly recognizable, having feature in many other Nintendo games over the years.

For the past decade or so, Xbox has struggled forming its own assortment of iconic characters. However, following a number of recent acquisitions (including Zenimax Media) Microsoft has a growing stable of characters ready to race, party or battle it out against one another on our screens.

Master Chief, Ori, Kait Diaz, Lucky from Lucky’s Tale, Minecraft’s Steve, Skyrim’s Dovakhin, Psychonauts 2’s Raz, DOOM Guy and William J. Blazkowicz, and Senua are just a handful. You’ve still got characters from Fable, Outer Worlds, and even the car from Forza Motorsport, too! Okay… maybe not that last one.

The point is, as Microsoft continues to improve its stable of first-party developers and iconic IP, the more it makes sense to bring some sort of party game to our screens that brings them all together.

A take on the popular Smash Bros. formula seems more fitting given the characters Microsoft has at its disposal, but we’re open to all ideas at this point!

Outer Worlds x Fallout Crossover

Last year, Obsidian Entertainment joined the Xbox family and released its sci-fi RPG, Outer Worlds. Ever wanted Fallout to go to space? Then this is the game you want to be checking out.

Almost all of the core gameplay components remained the same, albeit a few tweaks like VATS to Tactical Time Dilation, for example.

It was a far shorter experience on the surface, too, with replayability being at the heart of the experience. Various decisions could be made throughout the campaign, affecting the state of the world as players advanced through the main story.

But forget all that ‘lore’ malarkey for a minute and think about the prospect of an Outer Worlds adventure that saw players returning to Earth after the events of the original game. The Unreliable touches the ground, you step off, only to be greeted by the Brotherhood of Steel

And so the Fallout x Outer Worlds crossover begins. You’re welcome Microsoft, just send any checks over to our HQ address. I’m sure I’ll get them!

Morrowind & Oblivion Remakes

You got us, this one doesn’t technically require Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax Media to have gone ahead, but hear us out.

We already know that The Elder Scrolls 6 is a long way off, and Starfield will release before it. In fact, we barely know anything about Elder Scrolls 6.

So what better way to show off all the hard work the team’s been putting into the engine overhaul Todd Howard recently mentioned in an interview by remaking two classic entries in the series.

No, definitely not Skyrim, but Morrowind and Oblivion. Having released over a decade ago, the visuals are looking very tired, but the gameplay and regions are still held close to the hearts of fans.

Here’s your Microsoft acquisition twist, though. As Phil Spencer noted yesterday that games would come to ‘other platforms on a case-by-case basic,’ perhaps these would be two Xbox exclusives.

Remakes of both of these games in 4K, exclusive to Xbox and available on Game Pass from day one would be sure to have players sitting up and taking note.

Is this a bit out there? Absolutely. Does that make us want it any less? Absolutely not.