Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American Rockville, Maryland-based video game Publishing Company that has a net worth of $3 billion. Scientist Christopher Weaver founded this company in 1986. Currently, it is maintained by ZeniMax Media. On 21st September 2020, Microsoft bought the parent company of Bethesda Softworks for $7.5 billion.
Bethesda earned its popularity by publishing some amazing games like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout Series, Dishonored Series, Doom Series, and so on. This company earned $450 million from Skyrim! Currently, its yearly earning is recorded as 500k septims that counts $71.5 million!
Bethesda Softworks Net Worth over the Years: (2017 – current)
| Year | Net Worth |
| 2021 | $3 billion |
| 2020 | $3 billion |
| 2019 | $2.5 billion |
| 2018 | $2.1 billion |
| 2017 | $1.9 billion |
How much does Bethesda Softworks make per ear?
As a video game publishing company, most of Bethesda Softworks’ revenue came from their released games in the market. Before going to its earning sources, have a glimpse of its yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily income:
- Yearly Income: $71.5 million
- Monthly Income: $5.95 million
- Weekly Income: $1.48 million
- Daily Income: $213k
- Hourly Income: $8,866
How does Bethesda Softworks make money?
Most of Bethesda’s wealth came through video game publishing. This company currently holds 75 employees across all of its locations. According to a news report, Bethesda earns $10.04 million in sales from the United States.
Hence, Bethesda makes multi-million throughout its worldwide video game sales. We will come to this point. Before that, have a glimpse at Bethesda Softworks’ published games and the worldwide number of sales of these copies:
| Published Games | Number of Selling Copies |
| Wayne Gretzky Hockey | 350k |
| Terminator Series | — |
| The Elder Scrolls Series | 58 million |
| The Terminator: Future Shock | — |
| Skynet | 260k |
| Skyrim | 20 million |
| Zero Critical | 2.6 million |
| IHRA Drag Racing Series | 1 million |
| Pirates of the Caribbean Series | 4.87 million |
| Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth | — |
| Star Trek Series | — |
| Fallout Series | 13.51 million |
| Wet | 3 million |
| Rogue Warrior | — |
| Rage | 2.5 million |
| Brink | 2.5 million |
| Hunted: The Demon’s Forge | — |
| Dishonored Series | 2.5 million |
| Doom Series | 10 million |
| Wolfenstein Series | 207k |
| The Evil Within Series | 211k |
| Prey | 1 million |
| Fallout 76 | 15 million |
| Ghostwire: Tokyo | 460k |
Among these video games, Bethesda earned success through —
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
- Fallout Series
- Dishonored Series
- Doom Series
- The Evil Within
On the other hand, the list of flops games by Bethesda are —
- Fallout 76
- Rogue Warrior
- Star Trek Series
- Pirates of the Caribbean Series
- Brink
Well, let’s have a brief discussion addressing Bethesda’s successful video games —
How much does Bethesda make from Skyrim?
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open-world action video game developed by Bethesda. Over 20 million copies of this video game were sold. It ranked in best-selling video game charts numerous times.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim became the best-selling video game when it was GTA 5 era. More than 7 million copies within its first week of release were sold. Bethesda made this video game with a budget of $100 million. As of this writing, Bethesda has made $450 million from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
However, let’s figure out the loss project of Bethesda.
How much does Bethesda lose on Fallout 76?
To make Fallout 76, Bethesda spent $100 million. In return, this game made a revenue of $750 million. It seems to us that Fallout 76 has made a huge amount of profit. But, in the technical world, it has been a jeopardy to Bethesda.
Over 15 million copies of Fallout 76 have been sold. It was possible because of its image developed by its predecessor. The matter of concern that Fallout 76 has put the entire Fallout IP image in danger. Hence, it has been recognized as a loss project for Bethesda.
Bethesda Softworks LLC Overview
| Legal Name | Bethesda Softworks LLC |
| Headquarters Regions | Rockville, Maryland, United States |
| Founded | 28 June 1986 |
| Founders | Robert A. Altman, Christopher Weaver |
| Number of Employees | 500+ |
| Company Type | Profitable |
| Products of Company | Video Game Publisher |
| Current Revenue | $10.04 million |
| Net worth | $3 billion |
Company Background
In 1986, Christopher Weaver and Robert A. Altman founded Bethesda Softworks in Bethesda, Maryland. At first, Bethesda Softworks started as a division of Media Technology Limited.
In 1999, Robert A. Altman and Weaver formed a new parent company — ZeniMax Media for Bethesda Softworks. At that time, Bethesda Softworks earned enormous popularity releasing numerous famous games.
In the first fifteen years of its journey, Bethesda only worked for Video Game Development. Later on, it became a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media.
However, Weaver wanted to name this company — Bethesda Software but some other company already used this name. Hence, Weaver decided to name it Bethesda Softworks.
Evolution
Being introduced to the world of video game developer media, Bethesda was hired on the John Madden Football game. In 1986, this company invented the 1st physics-based sports simulation that they named Gridiron.
After Gridiron, Bethesda started working for Electronics Arts with a budget of $7.3 million. Bethesda first came to the limelight releasing The Elder Scrolls Series. Later on, the company released some super-hit games like Fallout Series, Doom Series, The Evil Within, and so on.
In 1997, Bethesda added XL Translab as its graphic company. Weaver and Altman boosted Bethesda Softworks, forming its parent company ZeniMax Media in 1999.
Currently, this company is making a yearly revenue of $10.04 million through video game sales. The company further earns throughout their extra projects.
FAQs
Microsoft bought the parent company of Bethesda — ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion. Currently, Bethesda Softworks belongs to Microsoft as ZeniMax Media was sold for $7.5 billion.
American video game designer, Todd Howard is the CEO of Bethesda. He has actively contributed to Skynet, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and so on.
Recently, a report addressed that Bethesda’s bug issue is out of control. They have carried out many bugs from one game to the next. Hence, a concerning issue is going on. However, as a promising company, they should come out with the best solution for it.
Sources
- CNBC news on Bethesda acquisition…
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/21/technology/microsoft-zenimax-video-game-deal.html — The New York Times report on Bethesda.
- https://bethesda.net/en/dashboard — Bethesda Softworks dashboard.
