Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks for $7.5B

Re:Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks... by dspillett on Monday September 21, 2020 @10:28AM (#24543879)

I'm not sure about that. I read Alyx as a very successful tech demo intended to push the market sector out a bit and make money off the platform and hardware, rather than a renewed more games-centric direction for Valve. Much like iD's output often being tech demos for the game engines that they then license to other studios.

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Re:Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks... by scollet on Monday September 21, 2020 @12:14PM (#24545105)

> very successful tech demo

Can't think of a Valve game that doesn't fit this description.

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Re:Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks... by outworlder on Monday September 21, 2020 @01:17PM (#24545960)

Tech demo? Have you played it?

It's a heck of a "demo". It's about the size of Half Life 2.

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Re:Microsoft to acquire ZeniMax Media and Bethesda Softworks... by dspillett on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @10:08AM (#24554512)

I do not doubt it is a full game.

But that is not its sole purpose.

The only debate is whether is a game first, or a demo of how full games work in the framework/hardware first and a full game because that was deemed the best way to showcase the what is possible.

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