Microsoft acquires ZeniMax Media, 'Fallout' publisher Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

The studio behind video game franchises Doom and Fallout has a new home. Microsoft announced Monday it will acquire ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion. The deal includes Bethesda Softworks, the Maryland-based publisher that works on video game properties including Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. "As a proven game developer and publisher, Bethesda has seen success across every category of games, and together, we will further our ambition to empower the more than three billion gamers worldwide," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in a statement. ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, was founded in 1999 and currently has more than 2,300 employees.