Todd Howard Reveals Why Bethesda’s Games Are ‘Irresponsibly Large’

As a seasoned gamer with over two decades of gaming under my belt, I can confidently say that Bethesda Game Studios has been a staple in my RPG collection for years. From Skyrim to Fallout 4 and now Starfield, their games have provided countless hours of exploration and immersion into fantastical worlds.

People generally adore role-playing games (RPGs) produced by Bethesda Game Studios. Titles such as Fallout, Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls have earned them a notable reputation. Their success often stems from the vastness of these games, which offers countless hours for exploration. For some players, these games can be quite intimidating, or to put it in Todd Howard‘s words, they might even be considered ‘irresponsible’.

In a recent interview, Howard explained why Bethesda’s games are just so enormous.

Does Bigger = Better?

Over time, Bethesda Game Studios’ games have grown increasingly grand in concept and scale. In 2011, they launched Skyrim, an expansive world that players could immerse themselves in for hundreds of gaming hours. In 2015, Fallout 4, the most substantial game in the post-apocalyptic series at the moment, garnered global attention and set a record as the franchise’s top-selling game.

2023 saw the unveiling of Starfield by the team, following numerous years of meticulous work. It offered an abundance of interstellar exploration, boasting over 1000 planets scattered across a colossal cosmos.

Numerous individuals contend that larger isn’t automatically superior, and Todd Howard acknowledges this – creating such expansive universes may not always be practical.

At Bethesda, we minimize very few elements in our games, which is why they are extraordinarily large. This extensive creation is a collective effort across the entire team, pouring in creativity to make the game unique and standout from others. It’s not just me who thinks this way; it’s the special touch that sets them apart.

At Bethesda Game Studios, it’s all about collaborative work and a philosophy that leans towards including as much content as possible. Although it’s clear that some elements were removed from games like Fallout 4, the studio prefers to keep in more rather than less. Often, what gets cut is merely set aside for potential inclusion at a later stage.

Here’s the full interview with BAFTA that unearthed these comments from Todd Howard:

Although Starfield appeared to be enormously vast, developers at BGS encountered difficulties filling that expanse. A common complaint about the game is that its points of interest seemed repetitive, with numerous caves and complexes feeling like ‘rinse-and-repeat’ experiences. Enemies often occupied the same spots, loot was found in identical crates, and so forth.

There’s a general anticipation that The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 will mark significant advancements for their series, but does a larger scale automatically equate to improved quality?

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