Skyrim design lead says moving on from the fantasy RPG to sci-fi games like Fallout and Starfield was a 'relief' that let Bethesda 'exercise new creative muscles'

Former Bethesda developer Bruce Nesmith discusses the studio's shift from fantasy games like Skyrim to sci-fi titles like Fallout and Starfield, acknowledging internal hesitation but highlighting the benefits of expanding creative horizons for developers and players.

Former Bethesda dev Bruce Nesmith has revealed that there was some internal hesitation to move on from the fantasy world of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and onto more sci-fi-oriented territory like Starfield and Fallout, but ultimately the veteran RPG developer views the shift as a learning experience.

Talking to VideoGamer, Nesmith said it was a "relief" when Bethesda moved on to Fallout 4 after Skyrim and Starfield after Fallout as it allowed the developers to "exercise new creative muscles," although he remembered not everyone feeling the same enthusiasm.

"There are some people, admittedly, who weren’t attracted to Fallout or weren’t attracted to Starfield, who came to Bethesda simply because they wanted to work on fantasy titles," Nesmith said. "That’s going to be true everywhere, but Bethesda has always wanted to be a multi-title studio, and I think it’s a smart thing to do. I think it’s good for the people who work there. I think it’s good for the industry. I think it’s good for the consumers."

Of course, Bethesda Game Studios' next project is the long, long-awaited return to the fantasy realm with The Elder Scrolls 6. Nesmith retired from Bethesda in 2021, but he's been out and about lately talking about his time with the company, recently predicting that The Elder Scrolls 6 won't go back to "fiddly stat sheets" after the success of Baldur's Gate 3.

Nesmith also recently opened up about his working relationship with Todd Howard, who he said would sometimes work on "two dozen" projects at once and is the face of Bethesda partly because he's "incredibly photogenic".