ZeniMax Media

ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company. It operates as a subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming. The company controls major gaming franchises including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, DOOM, Quake, Wolfenstein, Dishonored, and Prey through its subsidiaries Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, and MachineGames.

ZeniMax was acquired by Microsoft in 2021 for $8.1 billion, making it one of Microsoft's largest gaming acquisitions. The acquisition expanded Microsoft's first-party studio roster and brought popular franchises under Xbox Game Studios.

Microsoft's Corporate Complicity

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, ZeniMax Media is implicated in its parent company's extensive military contracts and surveillance operations. The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has designated Microsoft as a "priority BDS target" due to the company's central role in supporting Israeli military operations and facilitating apartheid and genocide.

Microsoft provides critical cloud computing and AI technologies to the Israeli military through its Azure platform. Leaked documents reveal that the Israeli military became one of Microsoft's top AI customers, with Azure cloud storage increasing 60% above pre-conflict levels and AI tools usage seeing a 20-fold increase during military operations in Gaza.

BDS Campaign Targeting ZeniMax Games

The Palestinian BDS National Committee has specifically called for boycotting Microsoft's gaming division, which includes ZeniMax's portfolio of games. The BDS movement describes Microsoft as:

perhaps the most complicit tech company in Israel's illegal apartheid regime and ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza.

ZeniMax's major franchises, including Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and DOOM, represent significant revenue streams for Microsoft Gaming. BDS organizers state that:

Microsoft Gaming, which includes Xbox consoles, Xbox Game Pass, Candy Crush, Call of Duty, Minecraft, and gaming accessories, make up a considerable portion of Microsoft's profit. By boycotting the Xbox brand, we're pressuring Microsoft to end its complicity in Israel's genocide, occupation and apartheid against Palestinians.

The campaign encourages gamers to:


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