Bethesda Softworks in the context of "Bethesda Game Studios"

Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as applications (video games), the streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox network and Xbox Game Pass. The brand is owned by Microsoft Gaming, a division of Microsoft.

The brand was first introduced in the United States in November 2001, with the launch of the original Xbox console. The Xbox branding was formerly, from 2012 to 2015, used as Microsoft's digital media entertainment brand replacing Zune. In 2022, Microsoft expanded its gaming business and reorganized Xbox to become part of its newly formed Microsoft Gaming division. Under Microsoft Gaming, Xbox's first-party publishers are Xbox Game Studios, ZeniMax Media (Bethesda Softworks), and Activision Blizzard (Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King), who own numerous studios and successful franchises.

Microsoft Gaming is the video game and digital entertainment division of the American multinational technology company Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington and established in 2022. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Softworks (publisher of ZeniMax Media), Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and King (the latter three are publishers of Activision Blizzard). It produces the Xbox video game consoles and services, in addition to overseeing production and sales, and is led by CEO Phil Spencer, who has overseen Xbox since 2014.

Prior to 2022, Microsoft had several different video game-related product lines, including Xbox hardware, Xbox operations, and game development studios. Microsoft Gaming was created with the announcement of Microsoft's plans to acquire Activision Blizzard to unify all of Microsoft's gaming groups within a single division. With the completion of the Activision Blizzard acquisition in 2023, Microsoft became one of the largest gaming companies, the third-by revenue and the largest by employment. The company has 500 million monthly active players across all gaming platforms.

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. The company additionally owns the development studios Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield), id Software (Doom, Quake, and Rage), Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey, and Redfall), MachineGames (Wolfenstein), and ZeniMax Online Studios (The Elder Scrolls Online). Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media for $8.1 billion in March 2021 and operates it under the Microsoft Gaming division.