ZeniMax Media was in the news late last year afterMicrosoft acquired ZeniMaxalongside its subsidiary Bethesda, and it looks like it is starting out 2021 with some interesting news as well. The video game holding company/publisher looks to have just trademarked a possible new title;Hi-Fi Rush.
Microsoft’s $7.5 billion purchase of ZeniMax Mediais massive because it covers games likeFallout, The Elder Scrolls, Doom, Wolfenstein, and more. However, the new intellectual properties are just as interesting. Not including the upcomingStarfield,which is already announced and on the way, the teams that are under the ZeniMax umbrella (Bethesda, iD, MachineGames, Tango Games, etc.) may come up with new ideas over the coming years, and this “Hi-Fi Rush” could be one of the first.
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One of the biggest surprises of 2020was the news of Microsoft purchasing Bethesda. No one knows yet what this could mean in terms of exclusivity for a game like the aforementioned Starfieldor the nextElder Scrolls, but Microsoft didn’t make the second biggest gaming acquisition (behind Tencent buying Supercell) for nothing. There is a chance that thisHi-Fi Rushtrademark could already have Microsoft’s imprint on it.
As far as whatHi-Fi Rushis, there are many possibilities. One idea leans toward the multiplayer route, specifically competitive multiplayer.ZeniMax/Bethesda tend to lean toward single-player experiences, so a multiplayer game could be a fresh direction.Hi-Fi Rushsounds like it could be a pop-in/pop-out arcade shooter, perhaps coming from the Arkane Studios team.
However, fans could be unhappy ifHi-Fi Rushwere a multiplayer game, similar to thepoor response toFallout 76and its nontraditional single-player experience. However, the difference in this case is thatHi-Fi Rushmay be an entirely new IP, and therefore it would not take away from a series that fans already know and love (likeFallout 76did with theFalloutseries).
There have already been hints that Bethesda may do more multiplayer games moving forward, but this could be a new single-player game as well. TheHi-Fi Rushtrademark could also be for something entirely different, outside of video games. Or it could also be a trademark for an item, gameplay mechanic, or idea inside a game. Of course, all of this is just speculation for now. More information will likely come with time, especially as more of the details finalize with Microsoft officially taking overZeniMaxand Bethesda.
