Before Fallout 76 was even announced, Bethesda knew that its online-centric nature wouldn’t sit well with a large number of their fans, and that many would fear that it would represent a permanent change in their philosophies. As such, to reassure fans, they decided to announce Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 years before they will be released, which is quite unlike what they’ve done with all their major releases this generation.
Recently, while speaking with GameSpot at PAX Australia, Bethesda’s SVP of marketing Pete Hines reiterated that yet again. He started by saying that both games are years away from their launch, but that they were announced early to reassure fans that Bethesda are still working on the kind of large, single player open world RPGs they are known for. He also emphasized that with both upcoming RPGs, which would follow the kind of development cycle and release schedule Bethesda Game Studios’ games usually do, they’re “going to make some stuff you’re really going to love.”
“[The Elder Scrolls VI] is big and it’s ambitious, but also … the most important thing to underscore is that the timeline between products that you get from BGS is not any different than it has been historically just because we’ve talked about two games after Fallout 76,” Hines said. “I try really hard to manage people’s expectations. It’s not like ‘Fallout 76 this year, Starfield next year, and then The Elder Scrolls VI the year after.’ The timeline isn’t any different. What’s different is just trying to be transparent and say, ‘Don’t freak out, the next thing we’re doing is single-player [in Starfield], [and] we are making The Elder Scrolls VI.”
“Would it have been better if it was some years from now and we just go, ‘Surprise, we’re making a game called Starfield, and it’s out X months later?’” he continued. “Yeah. For sure. But at the same time, there is also value in every day between there people aren’t freaking out about us making Fallout 76 as an online-only game as a service and this is all they’re ever making.
“Take a deep breath; you’re going to be OK. We’re going to make some stuff you’re really going to love.”
We also heard recently that The Elder Scrolls 6 is most likely not going to be out this generation (which is something that Bethesda pretty much said themselves at E3)- though there is still a slight chance that Starfield launches on current gen consoles. Meanwhile, Bethesda’s next big game, Fallout 76, is not too far away, with its launch coming on November 14 for the PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Head on over here to read our impressions on the game’s first beta phase.
