Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game publisher. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media and sister company of id Software, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland, and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland. Consisting of a broad portfolio of games in role-playing, racing, simulation, and sports, Bethesda Softworks' major franchises are distributed worldwide.

History
Bethesda has been a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content for over two decades. Though since 2001 Bethesda Softworks is only a publisher and is the developer. Founded in 1986 by Christopher Weaver in Bethesda, Maryland, and moved to Rockville, Maryland, in 1990, the company has a long history of PC and console games. In 1999, Christopher Weaver and Robert Altman founded ZeniMax Media, Inc.

The company is best known for creating The Elder Scrolls RPG series.

Bethesda Softworks is also known for publishing titles based upon popular movie franchises, including The Terminator, Star Trek and Pirates of the Caribbean.

In 2004, the Fallout franchise was acquired by Bethesda from Interplay Productions and the development of Fallout 3 was handed over to Bethesda Game Studios.

Bethesda Softworks continues to expand their publishing into new franchises, releasing Wet and Rogue Warrior in 2010, and Splash Damage's Brink and inXile Entertainment's Hunted: The Demon's Forge in 2011.

On June 24, 2009, Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, acquired id Software, whose titles, including Rage, would be published by Bethesda Softworks – it was later announced that any games using the new game engine will be published by them.

On September 21, 2020, Bethesda Softworks announced that it would be acquired by Microsoft as part of a buy-out of parent company ZeniMax Media for a sum of US $7.5 billion. Bethesda Softworks will reportedly continue to publish games under its branding as part of the in-progress deal.