How does a studio follow a game likeThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim? After the industry-changing launch ofBethesda’s RPG, its next few titles weren’t quite at the same level. Fallout 4 and Fallout 76 weren’t exactly what fans of the post-nuclear apocalyptic series hoped for, and Starfield unfortunately never became the “Skyrim in space”.
You’d think that the creators of Skyrim would have a hard time moving on from such a beloved title, which still had a lot of scope for additional expansions. However, it seems that lead designer Bruce Nesmith was glad that the studio decided to leave it behind – not counting the numerous editions, of course.
Moving On Was Always the Plan
In a conversation withVideoGamer, Nesmith said that the studio was never going to continue expanding Skyrim after the Dragonborn expansion.
“That was not on the table,” he said. “Imagine if Skyrim had never been made, and all we kept doing was just completely reinventing Oblivion. You know, what a crying shame that would be. All the innovations in Skyrim, technically, graphically, design-wise, everything else, just not there because we just wanted to keep making more of the same.”
Nesmith went on to say that every developer wants to make something new, so when the team was to move on to other games, he felt a sense of “relief”. It allowed the dev team to “exercise new creative muscles”, instead of trying to expand an already fleshed out universe.
However, not everyone was as relieved as him, some developers joined Bethesda to work on the fantasy titles the studio is so famous for, and nor sci-fi titles like Fallout and Starfield. “That’s going to be true everywhere," he continued. “But Bethesda has always wanted to be a multi-title studio, and I think it’s a smart thing to do. I think it’s good for the people who work there. I think it’s good for the industry. I think it’s good for the consumers.”
He also explained that consoles which were current-gen at the time, like the PlayStation 4, were finding it hard to run the game thanks to their memory limits and the game’s numerous DLC. “Both Oblivion for the platforms available at its time, and Skyrim for the platforms available at its time, were straining those limits. You physically could not add another DLC without breaking the game.”
In a previous conversation with the same source, Nesmith also admitted thatBethesda games overall could do with “a higher degree of polish.“We know the studio’s games are notoriously, and sometimes hilariously buggy. While admitting this fact, the designer also mentioned that there was a good reason the studio’s games lacked polish.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
WHERE TO PLAY
One of the all-time greats, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim redefined the concept of the Western RPG. With countless awards under its belt and releases on almost every platform imaginable, you’ll find yourself engrossed in a colossal open world in your role as the Dragonborn. You must face your destiny and save the land from a formidable foe.
