The Microsoft-Bethesda roundtable video presentation didn't have any real news about the future of both companies, but it won't be much longer until we get some real news.
Marketing executives Aaron Greenberg for Xbox and Erin Losi for Bethesda Softworks confirmed that they are now talking and sharing ideas for future announcements. Greenberg said "historically it was E3" when Microsoft and Bethesda would make big announcements, but now it may be during a different format. Whatever the case, Greenberg and Losi said players can expect news about the future of Bethesda and Xbox at some point in the summer.
Summer officially runs June 20-September 22 in the northern hemisphere, so you can expect some news during that time period. None of this is a surprise, as it was previously reported that Microsoft and Bethesda would make announcements during events in the summer. These events might take place on the same day, back-to-back, to deliver a big one-two punch, according to the reports.
As for what it could discuss, it could be updates on new games like Starfield or The Elder Scrolls VI, or brand-new games altogether. As for Microsoft, the summer show will be just months before Halo Infinite releases during the holiday, while it was also reported that Xbox has more unannounced games to reveal for 2021.
E3 2021 may go forward, but it won't be a physical show, as the organizers have confirmed the event will be "transformed" to look different this year. Whether or not the event takes place, and if Microsoft and/or Bethesda might be a part of it, remains to be seen.
As for what was discussed during the Microsoft-Bethesda briefing, Xbox boss Phil Spencer spoke about the biggest unanswered question so far: will future Bethesda games be exclusive to Xbox?
Spencer said the deals that Bethesda already had in place for games that have been announced, or not, will remain honored. But on a longer timeline, Spencer said the goal is to release future Bethesda games on all platforms that support Xbox Game Pass. Right now, this would cut off PS5 and other systems, but that may not be the case forever.
Also during the event, it was announced that a whopping 20 Bethesda back catalog games will come to Xbox Game Pass on March 12, including Skyrim, Fallout: New Vegas, Dishonored 2, and more.