Todd Howard: Bethesda Game Studios' 'passion' is for single-player games

Starfield Robot
Starfield Robot (Image credit: Bethesda Softworks)

What you need to know

  • Bethesda Game Studios creative director Todd Howard spoke with IGN about the team's games, future and more.
  • During the interview, Howard mentioned that Bethesda Game Studios' "passion" is for single-player games.
  • Howard noted that this doesn't mean the team won't experiment with online elements.

Todd Howard, creative director at Bethesda Game Studios, spoke with IGN as part of the IGN Unfiltered podcast series. As part of the interview, Howard talked about the studio's history and what is to come in the future. When asked about the future of Bethesda Game Studios and working on single-player games, Howard responded that solo experiences are "..part of who we are."

Howard also noted that the team has "dabbled" with social elements that aren't necessarily multiplayer games, so it's not impossible these kinds of features make their way into future Bethesda Game Studios titles. Still, Howard makes it clear, Bethesda Game Studios' "passion" is in single-player role-playing games.

As part of Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, Bethesda Game Studios and the rest of Bethesda Softworks are now part of the Xbox first-party family. Upcoming science-fiction title Starfield is currently slated to arrive on Nov. 11, 2022 for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Touching on the success of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Howard noted that it's "far above" 30 million copies sold, though he didn't provide a new number. Skyrim Anniversary Edition is scheduled to launch on Nov. 11, 2021, with a free current-generation upgrade for anyone that owns Skyrim Special Edition.

Bethesda Game Studios is also working on The Elder Scrolls 6, though this game is years away from release.

Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.