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Grand Theft Auto VI and The Elder Scrolls VI are quite easily the industry’s two most highly anticipated games.
Fair to say, fans’ expectations are through the roof.
I wonder which title is feeling the pressure more; I’m inclined to say The Elder Scrolls VI.
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Rockstar Games hasn’t exactly delivered a dud in recent memory, so I think many of us are feeling pretty confident that GTA VI will deliver.
It’s not quite the same tale for Bethesda though.
Fallout 4 and Fallout 76, while enjoyed by fans now, launched with a fair with bugs.
And while Starfield launched in a pretty solid state, the game simply didn’t land with many people.
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The Elder Scrolls VI is hoped to be a return to form, but can it fulfil that expectation?
Well, fans are doubly worried following a statement made by one former Bethesda developer.
The Elder Scrolls VI’s initial reveal trailer dropped in 2018.
As reported by PC Gamer, a developer known as Purkeypile recently spoke at Game Developers Conference about the lack of freedom Bethesda now has.
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“We had quite a bit of freedom to do stuff,” Purkeypile said on the development of Skyrim.
“The one that people know about was Blackreach … That was not on schedule at all. Like we just kind of did that on the side and put it in.”
“A lot of the great stuff within Skyrim came from having that freedom to do what you want, as opposed to a game with this whole checklist design and design by committee,” he added.
The developer essentially left Bethesda during Starfield’s development because of just how different things became.
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“You would basically get in trouble for doing that [on Starfield],” Purkeypile said.
“Because everything does have a cost… If everyone is doing that within 500 people, it’s a mess. But with, you know, 100 people? It’s much more manageable, and where a lot of the interesting things come from.”
As such, fans are worried that The Elder Scrolls VI will lack the same level of magic and depth achieved in Skyrim.
“Developers don't make games anymore at big studios, board rooms do,” wrote Reddit user capndrac.
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“Probably why Starfield felt like such a disappointment. Especially in terms of writing. I liked the main quest, actually, but all subplots like companion stories, lore and guild quest lines felt like the most underdeveloped and boring s**t ever,” added Sculpdozer.
It doesn’t exactly bode well, does it?
Topics: The Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls 6, Skyrim, Bethesda