The co-lead designer of Starfield is sharing his thoughts on the problems the game encountered.
Kurt Kuhlmann, who previously worked on the popular Elder Scrolls games like Skyrim for Bethesda, also helped lead the design of Starfield. He’s now sharing some of the challenges the team encountered while making Starfield and how those compared to developing Skyrim.
Kuhlmann Feels Starfield Failed to Come Together as a Cohesive Game
Kurt Kuhlmann told PC Gamer that he thought the game was solid and ready for release, though not exceptional. He also noted that some people at Bethesda were surprised by the negative player reaction.
Starfield benefited from a much smoother release than Fallout 76, and according to Kuhlmann, that’s because Bethesda dedicated significantly more development time to it.
“I initially thought the game was solid when it launched,” Kuhlmann explains. “It was definitely playable, but it wasn’t outstanding.”
We attempted a big change in direction with this project, introducing a lot of new features and systems. It’s unrealistic to expect immediate success in a genre like space combat, especially when compared to established games that have been refined over many versions. We achieved a decent result – it wasn’t perfect, but it wasn’t a failure either.
Kurt Kuhlmann recently shared his reasons for leaving Bethesda and talked about his ideas for the next Elder Scrolls game. He explained how Star Wars might have shaped the game’s development, and you can find his thoughts here: [link].
I’m really curious what everyone thinks of Starfield! I’m already wondering what Bethesda will do next, and I’d love to hear your ideas. Come share your thoughts and join the conversation on our Discord server! Plus, if you want to stay up-to-date on everything we’re doing, be sure to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
Robert DeFelice
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2026-01-22 03:48