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Skyrim loremaster says The Elder Scrolls never got a Fallout: New Vegas-style game because Bethesda is “very protective” over its golden goose
Bethesda reportedly never pursued a Fallout: New Vegas-style spin-off for The Elder Scrolls because it was highly protective of the series. Former Skyrim developer Kurt Kuhlmann said Todd Howard may have wanted to avoid comparisons between Bethesda and an outside developer, which had fuelled debate over whether Obsidian or Bethesda handled Fallout better.
Kuhlmann suggested The Elder Scrolls Online helped fill the gap since Skyrim’s 2011 release, providing a continuous stream of new content for its sizeable player base. He left Bethesda in 2023, and circumstances have since changed: Xbox has placed greater emphasis on major franchises, Obsidian now sits under Bethesda and is developing a Fallout project, while The Elder Scrolls 6 remains in development.
In short
- Bethesda feared another studio could outshine it.
- The Elder Scrolls Online eased the wait for new content.
- Obsidian’s Bethesda ties could enable future spin-offs.
Explained simply
The Elder Scrolls is Bethesda Studios' major fantasy game franchise, most famous for Skyrim. Just before Skyrim's release, a different studio called Obsidian Entertainment released Fallout: New Vegas, set in the Fallout universe but developed outside Bethesda. That game was widely praised and sparked debate amongst fans about whether Obsidian or Bethesda had made the better Fallout game.
According to Kurt Kuhlmann, a developer who worked on Skyrim, Bethesda never pursued the same approach for The Elder Scrolls because the company was highly protective of the franchise. Kuhlmann suggested Bethesda's creative director Todd Howard wanted to avoid comparisons between developers that might make one studio's work seem inferior to another's.
Instead, Bethesda developed The Elder Scrolls Online, a multiplayer game that provided new content for players after Skyrim's release in 2011. The situation has changed since Kuhlmann left Bethesda in 2023: Obsidian is now owned by the same parent company as Bethesda, and The Elder Scrolls 6 remains in development.
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