Although Bethesda gave us some genre-defining games such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, gamers were left disappointed by the release of Starfield in 2023. The space RPG was the company’s first new IP in years and had a lot of pressure on its shoulders.
Unfortunately, the game fell short of the mark and proved to be a disaster. The release of its latest Shattered Space DLC only added to the disappointment, with many gamers feeling that Bethesda has made a series of blunders. However, this is not the studio’s first blunder with Starfield, as one of them took eight years to resolve.
Bethesda’s Worst Blunder Crippled Starfield‘s Development
In an interview, Bethesda’s boss, Todd Howard, opened up about Starfield‘s development right before its release. While the idea for the title has been there for decades, Howard and his team worked on it for eight years.
Even though the game faced various development issues and challenges throughout the years, one of the biggest blunders for Bethesda was that Starfield only started to click sometime in 2022, and Howard wished that they’d figured out the formula sooner.
I thought we would find the answers faster
Well, it’s not that uncommon for big games such as Starfield to come to life during the final stages of their development, though eight years is quite a big mark.
Although Starfield was revealed way back in 2018, its first release date wasn’t dropped until E3 2021, when Bethesda planned for a November 11, 2022 launch. This was the same period that the studio thought it was finally making a “fun” game.
Whatever the definition of fun is for Howard and his team, it clearly doesn’t resonate with gamers. Starfield has been anything but fun so far, as players believe it fails to evolve on Bethesda magic that gamers had been desperate for years. What’s even worrying is the precedent it sets for the future of big IPs such as Fallout and Elder Scrolls.
Bethesda Dev Calls Starfield the Company’s Ultimate Project
It just isn’t Howard who believes Starfield is the pinnacle of fun. While chatting with GamesRader, Starfield‘s design director Emil Pagliarulo stated that even though the game isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, it’s still the company’s most ambitious project to date and the ultimate work it has ever managed to craft.
Given the game’s incredible scale, it’s no surprise that Bethesda found it quite difficult to develop. At least on paper, Howard and his team have managed to flesh out a true technical marvel that’s going to go down in books. However, what’s interesting is that Pagliarulo believes that Starfield outclasses Bethesda’s biggest IPs.
This is quite a wild thing to say, considering the fact that this is the same studio that gave us smash-hits such as Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Morrowind, and the Fallout franchise.
Even though it’s good to see Bethesda experimenting with something outside of its expertise, the fact is that the space RPG isn’t a “fun” game, and it simply doesn’t stand in front of the company’s biggest hit. It’s high time for Howard and his team to learn from the failures of this title and set themselves on the right track for the future.
With that said, do you think Starfield is a worthwhile game to play? Let us know in the comments below.
