ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

based in

Rockville, Maryland Rockville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census tabulated Rockville's population at 67,117, making it the fourth ...

. The company was founded in 1999 by

Christopher Weaver Christopher Scot Weaver (born February 6, 1951) is an American entrepreneur, software developer, scientist, author, and educator. He is known for founding Bethesda Softworks, where he was one of the creators of ''The Elder Scrolls'' role-playing ...

and Robert A. Altman as the

parent company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the Security (finance), securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own Share ...

for Weaver's video game publisher

Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...

. The company additionally owns the development studios

Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', '' Fallout'', and '' Starfield''. B ...

(''

The Elder Scrolls ''The Elder Scrolls'' is a series of action role-playing games, action role-playing video games primarily developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The series focuses on Nonlinear gameplay, free-form gameplay in an ...

'', ''Fallout'', and ''Starfield''),

id Software id Software LLC () is an American video game developer based in Richardson, Texas. It was founded on February 1, 1991, by four members of the computer company Softdisk: game programmer, programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer T ...

(''

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

'', '' Quake'', and ''

Rage Rage may refer to: * Rage (emotion), an intense form of anger Games * Rage (collectible card game), a collectible card game * Rage (trick-taking card game), a commercial variant of the card game Oh Hell * ''Rage'' (video game), a 2011 first- ...

''),

Arkane Studios Arkane Studios SASU is a French video game developer based in Lyon. It was founded in 1999, and released its first game, ''Arx Fatalis'', in 2002. The studio has created the popular Dishonored (series), ''Dishonored'' series as well as developi ...

(''

Dishonored ''Dishonored'' is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, ''Dishonored'' follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to th ...

'', ''

Prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

'', and ''

Redfall ''Redfall'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Arkane Austin and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released for Windows and Xbox Series X/S on May 2, 2023. The game received mixed reviews, with criticism for its gameplay de ...

''),

MachineGames MachineGames Sweden AB is a Swedish video game developer based in Uppsala. The studio was founded in 2009 by seven former employees of Starbreeze Studios, including founder Magnus Högdahl. After unsuccessfully pitching game ideas to several ...

(''

Wolfenstein ''Wolfenstein'' is a series of alternate history World War II video games originally developed by Muse Software. The majority of the games follow William "B.J." Blazkowicz, an American Army captain, and his fight against the Axis powers. Earlie ...

''), and

ZeniMax Online Studios ZeniMax Online Studios LLC is an American video game developer and a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, specializing in massively multiplayer online games. The company developed ''The Elder Scrolls Online'' and its downloadable content. In 2012, it h ...

(''

The Elder Scrolls Online ''The Elder Scrolls Online'', abbreviated ''ESO'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game is a part of the '' Elder Scrolls'' series. It was ...

'').

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

acquired ZeniMax Media for $8.1 billion in March 2021 and operates it under the

Microsoft Gaming Microsoft Gaming is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment division of Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington, established in 2022. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Soft ...

division.

History

Formation, investments, and growth (1999–2007)

, the founder of the video game publisher

, and Robert A. Altman, a lawyer, founded ZeniMax Media in 1999. The name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "zenith" and "maximum". The company was established to succeed Media Technology Limited as the

of Bethesda Softworks. Weaver brought Altman onboard as the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, contributing his stock in Bethesda Softworks so that ZeniMax Media would be able to obtain funding. Weaver served as the chief technology officer from 1999 to 2002, when he moved into a non-executive role. Later that year, he filed a lawsuit against ZeniMax, alleging

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

and claiming he was owed US$1.2 million in severance pay. By February 2007, Weaver only held a 33% stake in the company, which by 2020 had been reduced to "a pittance of the stock". Among the original board members were

Harry E. Sloan Harry Evans Sloan (born March 8, 1950) is an American business executive, a former chairman of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and SBS Broadcasting, and a former entertainment lawyer. In partnership with fellow former motion picture company chairman ...

Les Moonves Leslie Roy Moonves (; born October 6, 1949) is an American media executive who was the chairman and CEO of CBS Corporation from 2006 until his resignation in September 2018 following numerous allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and ...

, and

Robert Trump Robert Stewart Trump (August 26, 1948 – August 15, 2020) was an American businessman and investor. He was the younger brother of U.S. president Donald Trump, and was a loyal supporter of Donald's political career. Trump served on the board ...

. In 2000,

SBS Broadcasting Group SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Cen ...

, operated by Sloan, acquired a 12.5% stake in ZeniMax as part of a partnership between the two companies. Among the partnerships between the companies, ZeniMax's subsidiary e-Nexus Studios developed entertainment portals and websites for SBS. In the same year,

Terry McAuliffe Terence Richard McAuliffe (born February 9, 1957) is an American businessman and politician who served as the List of governors of Virginia, 72nd governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat ...

, George Mitchell,

Dean Devlin Dean Devlin (born August 27, 1962) is an American screenwriter, producer, director, and actor of film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with director Roland Emmerich, and for his work on the The Librarian (franchise), ''Li ...

, and

Jon Feltheimer Jon Feltheimer (born September 2, 1951) is the Chief Executive Officer of Lionsgate Studios and has held that position since 2000. Feltheimer has led Lionsgate to grow into the leading Canadian independent filmed entertainment studio. Early lif ...

joined ZeniMax as advisors. The company acquired the ''

Fallout Nuclear fallout is residual radioactive material that is created by the reactions producing a nuclear explosion. It is initially present in the radioactive cloud created by the explosion, and "falls out" of the cloud as it is moved by the ...

'' franchise from

Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well a ...

in 2004. In August 2007, ZeniMax announced the formation of the studio

, led by Matt Firor. In October, after

ProSiebenSat.1 Media ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE (officially abbreviated as P7S1, formerly ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG) is a German mass media and digital company based in Unterföhring near Munich. It operates in three segments: Entertainment, Dating and Commerce & Venture ...

purchased SBS Broadcasting Group and inherited its stake in ZeniMax Media, now 9% of the shares, ProSiebenSat.1 Media announced it would intensify its relationship with ZeniMax. The company launched SevenGames.com, the international edition of its German-language game platform, in December and worked with ZeniMax to develop online games. In the same year,

Providence Equity Partners Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. is a specialist private equity investment firm focused on media, communications, education, and technology investments across North America and Europe. The firm specializes in growth-oriented private equity inves ...

bought a 25% stake in ZeniMax for $300 million. ZeniMax had 200 employees in October 2007. It acquired the ''

and

'' franchise in 2009. After Providence Equity Partners invested another $150 million for an undisclosed stake in 2010, the company grew to 400 employees by January 2011. ZeniMax subsequently announced a partnership with the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

School of Cinematic Arts to support its Interactive Media Division with a comprehensive educational program of guest lectures and internships.

Litigation with Oculus VR (2014–2017)

In May 2014, ZeniMax sent a letter to

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

and its

Oculus VR Reality Labs, formerly Oculus VR, is a business and research unit of Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook Inc.) that produces virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) hardware and software, including virtual reality headsets such as the Qu ...

subsidiary, asserting that any contributions

John Carmack John D. Carmack II (born August 21, 1970) is an American computer programmer and video game developer. He co-founded the video game company id Software and was the lead programmer of its 1990s games ''Commander Keen'', ''Wolfenstein 3D'', ''Do ...

made to the

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets, virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a virtual reality company founded by Palmer Luckey that is widely credited with reviving the virtual reality indust ...

project were the intellectual property of ZeniMax, stating that "ZeniMax provided necessary VR technology and other valuable assistance to Palmer Luckey and other Oculus employees in 2012 and 2013 to make the Oculus Rift a viable VR product, superior to other VR market offerings." The company filed a lawsuit against Oculus VR later that month. In June, Oculus VR filed a response to the lawsuit, stating that ZeniMax was falsely claiming ownership to take advantage of its acquisition by Facebook. Oculus VR also claimed that the Oculus Rift did not share any code or technology with ZeniMax's. A jury ruled in favor of ZeniMax in February 2017. They found that, while Oculus VR had not misappropriated ZeniMax's trade secrets, it had violated ZeniMax's copyrights and trademarks in addition to a

non-disclosure agreement A non-disclosure agreement (NDA), also known as a confidentiality agreement (CA), confidential disclosure agreement (CDA), proprietary information agreement (PIA), or secrecy agreement (SA), is a legal contract or part of a contract between at le ...

. ZeniMax was awarded $500 million. In the meantime, ProSiebenSat.1 Media had sold its stake in ZeniMax back to the company for €30 million.

Acquisition by Microsoft (2020–present)

In September 2020,

announced it had entered into an agreement to acquire ZeniMax and its subsidiaries for $7.5 billion. For Providence Equity Partners, the deal represented a six-time return on investment. Altman had considered selling ZeniMax for several years and at one point was close to a deal with rival

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

. Prior the deal's closure, he died on February 3, 2021, aged 73, at a Baltimore hospital. The

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

and the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

greenlit the acquisition in March 2021. A preliminary injunction to block the acquisition was being sought in a

class-action lawsuit A class action is a form of lawsuit. Class Action may also refer to: * ''Class Action'' (film), 1991, starring Gene Hackman and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio * Class Action (band), a garage house band * "Class Action" (''Teenage Robot''), a 2002 e ...

that ZeniMax faced over ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...

'', with the plaintiffs arguing that Microsoft could shield ZeniMax's assets from damages should it be found liable after the acquisition. Microsoft announced the completion of the acquisition on March 9, 2021. The final cost of the transaction was $8.1 billion. ZeniMax's board of directors was consequently dissolved. 300 QA testers, a majority at ZeniMax Studios voted to unionize as ZeniMax Workers United-CWA in January 2023. This follows the unionization efforts of QA testers at

Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. Activision Blizzard currently includes three operating units: Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and King (company), King. Founded in July 2 ...

which was also

acquired ''Acquired'' is a podcast by Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal about business history and strategy. As of 2024, the podcast has more than 600,000 monthly listeners. History Gilbert and Rosenthal worked together at Madrona Venture Group and ini ...

by Microsoft. In 2024, Microsoft signed a labor-neutrality agreement with CWA union, agreeing not to interfere with unionization efforts in any ZeniMax Media subsidiaries. In May 2024, Microsoft announced the impending closures of the ZeniMax studios

Arkane Austin Arkane Studios SASU is a French video game developer based in Lyon. It was founded in 1999, and released its first game, ''Arx Fatalis'', in 2002. The studio has created the popular Dishonored (series), ''Dishonored'' series as well as developi ...

Alpha Dog Games ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1999 by Christopher Weaver and Robert A. Altman as the parent company for Weaver's video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. ...

, and

Tango Gameworks Tango Gameworks Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. Founded in March 2010 by Shinji Mikami, previously of Capcom, the company was acquired by ZeniMax Media in October that year after suffering financial issues. Tango develo ...

, as well as Roundhouse Studios' absorption into ZeniMax Online Studios. In July 2024, over 200 Bethesda Game Studios employees unionized with CWA. The wall-to-wall unit was recognized by Microsoft, and includes artists, engineers, programmers, and designers. In August 2024,

Krafton Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...

agreed to buy Tango Gameworks, preventing its closure.

Studios

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, France; acquired in August 2010. *

, US; acquired in 1999. **

, US; established in 2001. *** Bethesda Game Studios Austin in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, US; founded in October 2012 as BattleCry Studios, re-branded in March 2018. ***

Bethesda Game Studios Dallas Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ''Fallout'', and '' Starfield''. Bet ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, US; founded in 2007 as Escalation Studios, acquired in February 2017, re-branded in August 2018. ***

Bethesda Game Studios Montreal Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including ''The Elder Scrolls'', ''Fallout'', and '' Starfield''. Bet ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada; established in December 2015. *

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the Universit ...

, US; acquired in June 2009. ** id Software Frankfurt in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, Germany; founded in 2015. *

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

, Sweden; acquired in November 2010. ** MachineGames Sundsvall in

Sundsvall Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...

, Sweden; founded in 2023. *

Hunt Valley, Maryland Hunt Valley is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, near the site of the Maryland Hunt Cup Steeplechase (horse racing), Steeplechase. It lies just north of th ...

, US; founded in 2007. ** ZeniMax Online Studios Hungary in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary; founded in 2004 as Nemesys Games, acquired in 2022.

Former

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, Canada; founded in 2012, acquired in October 2019, closed in 2024. * Arkane Studios Austin in

, US; acquired in August 2010, closed in 2024. * e-Nexus Studios (later renamed ZeniMax Productions) in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, US; founded in August 1999, headed by former ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'' co-creator

Sam Simon Samuel Michael Simon (June 6, 1955 – March 8, 2015) was an American television producer and animal rights activist who co-developed the animated sitcom ''The Simpsons''. While at Stanford University, Simon worked as a newspaper cartoo ...

. * Mediatech West in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, US; founded by Brent Erickson in

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

in 1992 as Flashpoint Productions and sold to Media Technology/Bethesda Softworks in 1995. Also referred to as Bethesda West. * Mud Duck Productions; founded in 2002, closed in 2007. * Roundhouse Studios in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, US; founded in November 2019, merged into ZeniMax Online Studios in 2024. *

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan; acquired in October 2010, sold to Krafton in 2024. * Vir2L Studios in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, US; acquired in 1999, closed in 2010. * XL Translab in

, US; acquired in 1997 by and moved to Bethesda Softworks. * Visionary Design Technologies

References

External links

* {{Microsoft Gaming 1999 establishments in Maryland 2021 mergers and acquisitions American companies established in 1999 Companies based in Rockville, Maryland Holding companies established in 1999 Holding companies of the United States Microsoft acquisitions Microsoft Gaming Microsoft subsidiaries Video game companies based in Maryland Video game companies established in 1999 Video game development companies Video game publishers