“Most people” at Bethesda wanted to make Elder Scrolls 6 before Starfield, claims Skyrim co-lead, but Todd Howard dragged them aboard his rocketship
According to Kurt Kuhlmann, Skyrim’s co-lead designer, most Bethesda team members expected to work on The Elder Scrolls 6 immediately following Fallout 4’s completion. However, Todd Howard, the studio’s creative director, had prioritized his long-held vision of creating a space RPG instead, leading the entire team to develop Starfield.
Kuhlmann describes the announcement as “It was very much, ‘guess what, team? We’re making this space game,’” suggesting the decision was presented as a fait accompli rather than a collaborative choice. The anecdote reveals that Howard’s personal vision was the determining factor in redirecting studio resources away from Elder Scrolls 6, overriding broader team expectations and preferences.
This account provides insight into creative leadership and decision-making at Bethesda, illustrating how a studio’s directional priorities can be shaped by a single leader’s vision, regardless of what the broader development team had anticipated.