Ex-Bethesda Dev Explains How High Expectations Could Impact The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5

Former Bethesda dev Bruce Nesmith claims The Elder Scrolls 6 will have to overcome higher expectations than most games to land well among fans. Given the enduring success of Skyrim and the long wait since the next Elder Scrolls‘ initial reveal, few, if any, gamers would deny that Bethesda’s next effort has a high bar to clear. However, Nesmith thinks the expectations surrounding The Elder Scrolls 6 wouldn’t be nearly as high if the game was coming from a different studio.

The wait for Skyrim‘s sequel has been a long and mostly silent one. Bethesda first unveiled The Elder Scrolls 6 more than seven years ago with a teaser that revealed nothing other than the fact that the company was working on the game. In the years that have followed, fans have learned next to nothing new about the RPG, but hype has risen as word has spread that Bethesda is making solid progress on it. Still, at least one insider is warning to manage expectations, not because of the game’s quality, but because of where it comes from.

Nesmith spoke on everything from a potential Morrowind remake to Fallout‘s use of AI in a recent conversation with Press Box PR. When asked about the expectations facing The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, the former Lead Designer said Bethesda now faces expectations “so high they cannot be met,” which could affect how people perceive these upcoming titles. Nesmith suggested that even if the next Elder Scrolls is a stellar game, it may still fall short of what fans want it to be, simply because of the studio’s impressive pedigree.

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According to Nesmith, the weight of sky-high expectations is what led to Starfield falling flat. Despite receiving mostly positive critical reviews, Starfield‘s player count has fallen dramatically since release, and player feedback was mixed, standing in strong contrast to the lasting popularity of titles like Skyrim. Nesmith attributes this almost entirely to it being a Bethesda game, going so far as to say “it would be talked about like the second coming” if another studio had made it. However, because it carried the Bethesda name and all the sky-high expectations that come with that, being “a very good game” wasn’t enough for it to gain the appreciation it might’ve otherwise gotten.

Nesmith followed this claim up with some discussion on how Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6 could overcome this obstacle. The dev expressed that Bethesda games have become more static in the last decade, so offering a more fluid world would help new ones subvert expectations and impress fans. He also emphasized the need for more impactful player choices, pointing to Baldur’s Gate 3 as an example of how meaningful choices helped a game become massively popular. Another Microsoft-owned studio experienced this firsthand, too, with some praising The Outer Worlds 2 for its engaging choices that helped players feel more involved in the world of the game.

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While Nesmith warned that expectations for The Elder Scrolls 6 may be almost impossibly high, he also said Bethesda has a solid chance at meeting them. He pointed out how Skyrim surpassed unrealistic expectations set by Oblivion and how Fallout 4 did the same when following Fallout 3. So, while the Bethesda veteran agreed that devs “have their work cut out for them,” he acknowledges that the potential is there. It may take a massive effort to meet what fans are looking for in these games, but it could happen.