ZeniMax Media

ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company is the owner of Bethesda Softworks, the publisher of Fallout series beginning with Fallout 3. Following a $7.5 billion acquisition by Microsoft, the company became part of Xbox Game Studios in March 2021.

Background
Christopher Weaver, the founder of Bethesda Softworks, established ZeniMax with Robert A. Altman in 1999. The company's name is a combination of the words "zenith" and "maximum." Weaver brought Altman on board as CEO, contributing his personal stock in Bethesda Softworks so that the new shell company, named ZeniMax Media, could obtain funding. Subsequently, Bethesda Game Studios was established in 2001.

ZeniMax acquired the Fallout franchise from Interplay Entertainment in 2004, and began development of Fallout 3 late that year. The title released in October 2008. ZeniMax acquired id Software in 2009.

Robert Walsh, technical director of enterprise business intelligence at ZeniMax, stated in 2017 that the company was "the third largest game company in America" and as of 2020, ZeniMax employed over 2000 individuals.

Microsoft
On September 21, 2020, Microsoft announced that it had entered into an agreement with ZeniMax, seeking to acquire the company. The acquisition was finalized following EU approval on March 9, 2021. The $8.1 billion deal was slated to return the original investment's capital more than six times over. As a result of the acquisition, ZeniMax agreed that all forthcoming games will be exclusive to platforms supported by Xbox Game Pass, allowing studios to complete all existing contractual obligations.

Stakeholders
ZeniMax advisory boards dissolved following the Microsoft purchase. The following individuals were previously listed on the ZeniMax website or in legal documents from 1999 to 2009.