Former Skyrim co-lead says Bethesda making Starfield instead of TES6 came out of nowhere: ‘It was very much: Guess what, team? We’re making this space game’
A former co-lead developer of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim has revealed that Bethesda’s decision to prioritize Starfield over The Elder Scrolls 6 was an unexpected, top-down directive rather than a collaborative team decision. Leadership informed staff of the shift with minimal warning, describing it as an executive mandate to pursue space exploration over the studio’s traditional fantasy RPG formula.
The Elder Scrolls 6 has been one of gaming’s most anticipated upcoming titles since its announcement at E3 2018, with the community awaiting substantial updates for eight years. Instead, Bethesda invested considerable resources into developing Starfield, a departure from the studio’s established expertise in open-world fantasy RPGs.
However, Starfield’s reception has not justified this development prioritization. The game received criticism for its generic sci-fi setting, procedurally-generated planets lacking meaningful content, and visually dated presentation. It struggled to gain traction at major industry events like The Game Awards and faced mixed critical reception—an unusual outcome for a studio historically recognized as a pinnacle of open-world RPG development. The revelation suggests potential internal discord regarding strategic direction and indicates the decision to deprioritize The Elder Scrolls 6 may not have enjoyed universal team support.