Good news often comes in threes, and that could be true for fans of Starfield, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout today.
Just now, Xbox studio Bethesda offered a massive update on its plans for its big three properties, and we caught up with studio director, Todd Howard, to learn more context about what fans can expect.
"We love making these worlds as much as you love playing in them," the note reads. "Today, we want to share what's next for Bethesda Game Studios and what you can expect from us in the years ahead."
For forty years, we've built games that have entertained almost half a billion players. More than just games, these are worlds. Worlds for you to explore, shape, and make your own. Worlds we return to together. That's what's driving us forward."
Bethesda said that it's making the investments to bring its core teams "closer together" with a view of building titles faster, provide them support for longer, for "decades to come."
Here's an overview of what was announced.
- On Fallout: Bethesda confirmed that it is working towards Fallout 5, which is now in pre-production.
- Bethesda confirmed my previous reporting that Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas will get full remakes in the future, but didn't announce dates.
- Bethesda also confirmed that Obsidian is returning to Fallout with its very own spin-off game, and said more info would come in the future.
- Fallout 76 will get a "huge" new DLC called Raven Rock, which will serve as a prequel to Fallout 3.
- Starfield is slated for more content, with a Starborn DLC on the horizon, and more tools and features to boost Creation Club content. Bethesda says Starfield remains "an important part of our future."
- Elder Scrolls 6 is progressing nicely, and Todd says that the studio is "where they want to be" on the game's development timeline — but don't expect it any time soon.
- Elder Scrolls Online will continue to get new seasons, and Zenimax Online Studios will be more directly integrated into Bethesda proper to improve collaboration.
- Elder Scrolls VI is Bethesda's current primary focus, "we're where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing every day."
- A big part of the wait revolves around Creation Engine 3, which Bethesda has been developing specifically to boost simultaneous franchise development and improve Creation Club tooling.
Todd Howard spoke to us about the Xbox cuts, huge respect for Obsidian, and video game industry challenges
When I got the call that I'd be speaking to Todd Howard, I admit I was a bit floored. I've been doing this for over a decade at this point, and never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would lead to an on-the-record chat with one of gaming's most prominent.
Todd Howard has been stewarding Bethesda franchises since 1994, but solidified his place in gaming legend with the release of Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, back in 2000. The game industry looks wildly different now than it did back then, but Bethesda has always managed to adapt to changing times.
Top of mind for me, and I suspect most of the Xbox faithful right now is Microsoft's huge cuts to the gaming operation, which seem to have disproportionately fell into ZeniMax's lap. I asked Howard how he and the team was doing, given what's going on.
"Great question," Howard says, looking visibly sorrowful. "I've been doing this a long time, whenever you've worked with people for, in some cases, many decades, and they're no longer here, that's really personally very difficult, and difficult for our teams."
Howard referred to previously difficult times in Bethesda history. During the 90s, Bethesda struggled to make it into the big time, and just before the firm was acquired by Microsoft, it had struggled out a variety of multiplayer-adjacent and mobile titles in attempts to join the "service game" gold rush, to mixed success.
"We had to change who we were and how we did some things then. And then we kind of became ZeniMax and did a bunch of things, and then we had to change again in 2016. Moving to different studios ... how do we support these franchises? And I think we're at another change moment for how we support each other, and what we do with these games and for our fans."
Speaking of fans, I couldn't help but mention Obsidian's return to Fallout. Obsidian made Fallout New Vegas, which is among the most beloved entries in the storied Fallout canon. Fans love it for its reactive world and true choice and consequence, something many feel Fallout 4 pulled back on. I asked Todd Howard how the collaboration with Obsidian came about, and what he thinks of the online mythology surrounding a purported rivalry.
"I appreciate some of the fan chatter, but behind the scenes, there's a huge amount of like mutual respect [between Bethesda and Obsidian]. We're always kind of wondering if we could find a way to work together in the right way. And when those things come up, I think I definitely look at the franchise all up, as you see in the note, everything that's kind of happening with Fallout."
"You sort of say, is there a way or a window or a pocket where we could do something together that really, really made sense? And so we're super excited about the opportunity, working together."
Todd remarked about how Obsidian's work flow mirrors Bethesda's, with a core team that have been together for decades. I noted how there's so much legendary Fallout alumni at Xbox now, with Tim Cain at Obsidian, and Brian Fargo at InXile. I asked if we could see even more projects emerge in the future, like an isometric Fallout 1 remake from InXile, for example. Howard remarked that Xbox teams are "pretty in sync," and they've seen and heard every idea for Fallout spin-offs.
"Sometimes you find your way there and sometimes you don't, or you do it later. It takes time. You mentioned the Fallout show. And that was a 10-year journey. As a caretaker of these things, the number one job is to make sure we serve the franchise as best we can."
The future hold for Starfield, Fallout, and Elder Scrolls fans
I didn't have a ton of time with Todd Howard (albeit hugely appreciated), and many of my questions were simply too far afield for answers.
I asked Todd Howard if The Elder Scrolls VI or Fallout 5 would be going exclusive to Xbox, given Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's mandate to grow the Xbox hardware ecosystem. He said it was too early to comment. I asked if we could get a timeline for Elder Scrolls VI launch window, but again, it sounded like the game is still too far away to put a landing strip on paper. I asked what engine Obsidian's Fallout game would be using (Unreal or Creation Engine?), but he said more would be revealed at a later date.
I think ultimately, today, Bethesda really wanted to reassure its fans that Xbox's cuts haven't decimated the studio. We've seen other Xbox studios like id Software put out statements on the topic, for example, as rumors run rife, and long-tenured staff with decades of experience and millions of dollars in sales to their names get ousted.
With the memory crisis ongoing, the AI build-out harming Microsoft's financials, and the saturation of the attention economy, it's a tough time for gaming. There's more content than ever, but also more competition than ever. It sounds as though Bethesda is pouring everything it can into making The Elder Scrolls VI another landmark hit for the studio, but we might still be waiting more than a hot minute to get our hands on it.
Join us on Reddit at r/WindowsCentral to share your insights and discuss our latest news, reviews, and more.
