Bethesda Game Studios, renowned for hit RPGs like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, has undergone significant growth over the past decade. While this expansion has enabled the studio to tackle more ambitious projects, it may have come at the cost of the creative freedom that defined their earlier successes.
The Evolution of Bethesda’s Development Process
Nate Purkeypile, a former Bethesda developer who worked on titles from Fallout 3 to Starfield, recently shared insights into how the studio’s growth has impacted its game development approach[1].
The Early Days: A Small Team with Big Ideas
When Purkeypile joined Bethesda, the studio operated with a team of around 65 people. This compact size allowed for a more flexible and experimental development process:
- Developers had the freedom to work on side projects and features
- Ideas could be quickly implemented and tested
- The workflow resembled that of an indie studio
The Skyrim Era: Balancing Growth and Creativity
By the time The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was in development, Bethesda’s team had grown to about 100 people. This growth brought new resources and capabilities, while still maintaining a degree of creative freedom:
- Developers could still pursue passion projects within the game
- Features like Blackreach and werewolves were added based on individual initiatives
- The relatively small team size allowed for effective communication and collaboration
The Starfield Challenge: Managing a Massive Team
Fast forward to Starfield’s development, and Bethesda’s structure had changed dramatically:
- The team expanded to around 500 people across four studios
- Additional outsourcing and co-development partnerships were utilized
- More rigid scheduling and task management became necessary
The Impact on Game Development
The shift from a small, agile team to a large, multi-studio operation has had several consequences for Bethesda’s development process:
Reduced Individual Freedom
Purkeypile notes that the freedom to work on unplanned features or side projects has been significantly curtailed:
“You would basically get in trouble for doing that, because everything does have a cost. It’s not even unreasonable, mind. If everyone is doing that within 500 people, it’s a mess.”[2]
Increased Structure and Meetings
With a larger team spread across multiple locations, more formal processes became necessary:
- More frequent meetings to coordinate efforts
- Stricter adherence to schedules and planned features
- Less room for spontaneous creativity
Challenges in Team Cohesion
Managing a team of 500 across different studios presents unique challenges:
- Maintaining consistent communication
- Ensuring all team members are aligned on the project vision
- Balancing the input and ideas from multiple sub-teams
The Double-Edged Sword of Success
Bethesda’s growth is a direct result of their previous successes, but it comes with trade-offs:
Advantages of a Larger Team
- Ability to tackle more ambitious projects
- Access to more resources and specialized talent
- Potential for higher production values
Disadvantages of Scale
- Less flexibility in the development process
- Reduced opportunity for individual contributions to shape the game
- Risk of losing the “indie spirit” that characterized earlier projects
Looking to the Future
As Bethesda continues to evolve, the studio faces the challenge of balancing the benefits of their increased scale with the creative spark that made their earlier games so beloved.
Some potential strategies they might consider:
- Implementing smaller, more autonomous teams within the larger structure
- Creating dedicated “innovation” periods where developers can experiment freely
- Fostering a culture that encourages and rewards creative thinking, even within a more structured environment
While Bethesda’s growth has undoubtedly brought new opportunities, it’s clear that maintaining the creative freedom of their earlier days remains a significant challenge. As they move forward with projects like The Elder Scrolls VI, finding ways to recapture some of that earlier flexibility could be key to delivering the kind of groundbreaking experiences fans have come to expect.