Bethesda recently rolled out another update for Fallout 4 and is even planning one for Skyrim down the road, and it’s another reminder that the company’s updates for games that are a decade or older are largely unnecessary. Skyrim and Fallout 4 are some of the most popular RPGs around, but Bethesda updates are usually followed by mayhem, specifically when it comes to the large modding communities both host. Many past Fallout 4 updates have not gone smoothly, which raises plenty of questions about why Bethesda is so persistent about patching the game when it has been going strong for more than 10 years.
As the saying goes, if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it. However, Bethesda’s goal of improving Creations and making it a larger part of the Fallout 4 and Skyrim ecosystem is the main driving force behind these newest update plans. When Bethesda announced the new Fallout 4 update and the upcoming Skyrim patch, the feedback from fans on social media was quite telling. Many players are upset that these updates keep happening, because they have gained a reputation for being game-breaking for a lot of people. It’s ultimately a reminder that most classic RPGs are probably better off being left alone.
After Focusing on These Games for So Many Years, It’s Time for Bethesda to Leave Skyrim and Fallout 4 Alone
The Fallout 4 update has rolled out already, but it’s unclear when the new Skyrim update will arrive. As far as I can tell after scanning the internet, this Fallout 4 update has disrupted some mods, but it doesn’t seem to have messed anything up too badly. However, the online reaction from players right after Bethesda made the announcement is a great example of how chaotic these updates have been over the years.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Rearrange the covers into the correct US release order.
Easy (5)Medium (7)Hard (10)
One Twitter user commented, “A SKYRIM UPDATE? For the love of god, please stop updating and breaking our load orders,” while another asked the official Bethesda account, “Why do you guys keep breaking your game?” Bethesda’s mod-breaking updates have even evolved into full-blown memes over the years. At this point, a lot of Skyrim and Fallout 4 players expect more issues than fixes when it comes to updates, and that’s a pretty good sign that Bethesda needs to leave these games be. Games by Bethesda promise immersive role-playing experiences, and a simple update can be enough to ruin a player’s ongoing playthrough.
For a genre that is supposed to be all about immersing oneself in a fantasy world, an update that breaks the specific mods that players have downloaded to try and improve the overall experience is deeply frustrating. Bethesda Creations is the company’s attempt at hosting more community-driven content, but players should have the freedom to use any kind of mod storefront they desire.
Bethesda’s goal of improving Creations and making it a larger part of the Fallout 4 and Skyrim ecosystem is the main driving force behind these newest update plans.
Many players get into a rhythm when playing RPGs, and having to be cautious of oncoming updates completely throws a wrench into that momentum and groove. It’s much harder to lose oneself in an RPG with good world-building when an update that players never even asked for throws the whole experience off-kilter.
Game-Breaking Bethesda Updates Sometimes Take Months to Fix
- Bethesda launched Fallout 4‘s next-gen update in April 2024.
- Players reported major issues like massive frame rate drops and crashes.
- It instantly disabled the community-made Fallout 4 Script Extender mod.
- Other issues like bad performance on ultra-wide monitors and a new list of bugs angered players.
- It took around 18 months for Bethesda to patch out the majority of the issues.
Taking 18 months to fix issues that were caused by another update in the first place left much of the Fallout 4 community feeling burned. The Fallout 4 next-gen update was a pretty significant disaster, so it’s completely understandable why so many fans are quick to panic when Bethesda announces another update is on the way.
Bethesda Should Be Looking to the Future Instead of the Past
I completely get why Bethesda has continued to put a spotlight on Skyrim and Fallout 4. The games are massive hits, but they would still be major successes without any post-launch intervention from Bethesda. It’s clear that the Creations system is intended to make passive money for Bethesda between projects, which makes sense, but it also isn’t worth angering a huge portion of the fan base.
In addition to the updates, Bethesda has released multiple editions of Fallout 4 and Skyrim. Apart from the standard Fallout 4, there is the Pip-Boy Edition, Game of the Year Edition, and Anniversary Edition. For Skyrim, there is the Legendary Edition, Special Edition, Nintendo Switch version, the VR version, Very Special Edition, and the Anniversary Edition.
Fans of Bethesda games have been incredibly vocal about the update fatigue. After Starfield proved to be a mixed bag and The Elder Scrolls 6 release date is potentially several more years away at this point, it just seems like the energy being used to update Fallout 4 and Skyrim would be more useful elsewhere. Bethesda has felt like it has been stuck in limbo ever since Starfield hit the scene, and gamers are ready to see something fresh from the developer. Granted, there have been some Starfield updates and DLC, but it hasn’t been enough to bump up the sci-fi RPG’s reputation.
The amount of attention being given to these already wildly successful games is overkill. I, and many others, are eager and ready to see what The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 have to offer, but the prospect of waiting multiple years after a decade has already passed since the last mainstream Fallout game extinguishes a little bit of that excitement. No one knows when the next Bethesda game will be ready, but it hopefully brings forth an experience that’s good enough to overtake the hold that Skyrim and Fallout 4 have had on the developer. Both are great games, but it’s time to move on.
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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
9/10
- Released
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November 11, 2011
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol
- Developer(s)
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Bethesda Game Studios
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Fallout 4
9/10
- Released
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November 10, 2015
- ESRB
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M FOR MATURE: BLOOD AND GORE, INTENSE VIOLENCE, STRONG LANGUAGE, USE OF DRUGS
