Microsoft's acquisition of Activision makes ancient FPS available for free

In January 2022, Microsoft announced that it would acquire Activision Blizzard, a major game maker. Ars Technica reports that the acquisition has allowed Microsoft to release old FPS and other releases released in the 1990s for free.

As Microsoft-Activision merger nears, a classic FPS license reappears—for free | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/07/as-microsoft-activision-merger-nears-a-classic-fps-license-reappears-for-free/

On July 14, 2022 local time, Microsoft released 'Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders,' 'HeXen: Beyond Heretic,' 'HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel,' 'The Elder Scrolls: Arena,' and 'Quake Champions' for Windows PCs. We announced that we will offer five titles for the Xbox Insider Program for free. The offer method is different from usual via the Xbox Insider Program, but from a PC running Windows 10 and Windows 11, anyone can play the above 5 titles for free by accessing the Xbox Insider Hub. Will be. The five titles released this time are all Bethesda Softworks titles that Microsoft has acquired .

Join 5 Various Xbox Insider Previews of Classic Games! --Xbox Wire
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/07/14/join-5-various-xbox-insider-previews-of-classic-games/

All five titles released by Microsoft for free run through an emulator called DOSBox , 'a clunky system that recreates the old-fashioned feel of launching your favorite old game at a text-only command prompt.' Is pointed out by Ars Technica. Still, Ars Technica said, 'For users who expect to'launch the game normally'from the Windows Store, players can't adjust visual options or remap controls. It may seem inconvenient, but it works so well that it's a pretty good game to play for free. '

On the other hand, Microsoft suddenly released five titles, 'Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders,' 'HeXen: Beyond Heretic,' 'HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel,' 'The Elder Scrolls: Arena,' and 'Quake Champions.' Some are sold for a fee on online game stores such as Steam and GOG.

In the case of Steam, 'Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders' is 498 yen

Steam: Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2390/Heretic_Shadow_of_the_Serpent_Riders/

'He Xen: Beyond Heretic' is 498 yen

Steam: HeXen: Beyond Heretic
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2360/HeXen_Beyond_Heretic/

'He Xen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel' is 498 yen

Steam: HeXen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2370/HeXen_Deathkings_of_the_Dark_Citadel/

'The Elder Scrolls: Arena' is now available for free

Steam: The Elder Scrolls: Arena
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812290/The_Elder_Scrolls_Arena/

'Quake Champions' is also available for free

Steam: Quake Champions
https://store.steampowered.com/app/611500/Quake_Champions/

Regarding HeXen and Heretic, which are sold for a fee on Steam and GOG, Ars Technica said, 'HeXen and Heretic have been hanging around for years in publishing. Microsoft will be the publisher of Bethesda Softworks and its subsidiaries in late 2020. The acquisition of the developer resulted in the addition of Bethesda-related titles to the Xbox Game Pass , and it seemed as if the game licenses obtained through the acquisition were in effect. This didn't seem to be perfect. Since the Xbox Game Pass focuses on home video games, I thought the old PC-only games were simply overlooked, but over the next few months, from the PC. No particular game was released for users of the Xbox Game Pass. '

There is also the question that Heretic and Hexen are labeled as 'id Software' by their publishers on Steam. Since id Software was acquired by Bethesda Softworks' parent company ZeniMax Media in 2009, it is likely that Microsoft will also own all the licenses for 'id Software' after the acquisition of Bethesda. increase.

However, in reality, when Activision acquired Raven Software , the developer of Heretic and Hexen, in 1997, all licenses for both the Heretic and Hexen series were taken over by Activision.

In short, with this acquisition of Activision Blizzard by Microsoft, all licenses for Heretic and Hexen have been consolidated under Microsoft, and it is possible that all of these titles could be released for free. Ars Technica wrote, 'As a publisher of older Heretic and Hexen, the name'id Software'is listed on Steam, which is clearly wrong.'

Before Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard and Bethesda Softworks was completed, it was unclear if there was a forum for discussions to resolve licensing issues, and Ars Technica contacted a spokeswoman for each company. However, it seems that there is no response at the time of writing the article.

The acquisition of Microsoft's Activision Blizzard has solved the licensing issue for more than just the five titles released this time. Microsoft will release Quake 4 for free in late June 2022 via the Xbox Insider Hub as well.