The Elder Scrolls franchise has been pretty straightforward with its RPG entries, with the MMO The Elder Scrolls Online being the furthest departure in recent years. This is unlike the Fallout games, which outsourced the development of the spin-off Fallout: New Vegas to Obsidian Entertainment rather than Bethesda. In fact, recent reports suggest that the success of New Vegas may be the reason why The Elder Scrolls doesn’t have a similar break from its traditional formula.
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Currently, the ongoing “reset” at Xbox has vastly changed the relationship between Obsidian and Bethesda, with Bethesda remitting to include Obsidian under its umbrella now. A new Fallout project between the two companies is in the works, but the anticipated Elder Scrolls 6 is still pretty far off. Ever since Fallout: New Vegas released, players have often compared each studio’s approaches to their games, which may have sunk any plans Bethesda might have had for The Elder Scrolls to gain a spin-off of its own.
Comparisons Between Obsidian & Bethesda May Have Locked Down The Heavily Protected Elder Scrolls Series
Former Bethesda developer Kurt Kuhlmann has shed some light on the internal nature of the studio following various interviews. Kuhlmann was a lead designer and senior designer at Bethesda for almost two decades, leaving in 2023 after many years working on The Elder Scrolls franchise. In many ways, the series’ mainstream popularity with titles like The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim had a lot to do with Kuhlmann’s direction, with the creator working on the Fallout series too.
According to Kulhmann, Fallout: New Vegas created a perception that Obsidian Entertainment should just get the Fallout franchise as a whole, due to how much “better” that studio did with the IP than Bethesda. In his words, “The whole New Vegas thing did create this, at least the perception of this, ‘Who makes a better Fallout game? Oh, they should just give it to Obsidian,” implying that fans preferred Obsidian’s approach to the franchise. Now, there have been plenty of arguments that Fallout: New Vegas is the best game in the series, for its compelling writing and impactful RPG structure that gives your character actions more weight.
That being said, plenty of players like Bethesda’s approach to Fallout as well, as that studio can make truly fascinating and deep open worlds to explore. However, regardless of what take on Fallout you side with, it’s the conversation that spawned from the Obsidian and Bethesda comparisons that made the latter company more cautious regarding its other IPs. Based on Kulhmann’s insight, Bethesda head Todd Howard became far more “protective” of The Elder Scrolls following New Vegas, with him not wanting the same conversations around the fantasy RPG series that Fallout was going through.
The Elder Scrolls Online May Have Opened The Door For More Spin-Off Conversations
For the longest time, this mentality was likely what prevented any deviation from The Elder Scrolls from existing post-Skyrim, leading to many ports of that game rather than something brand-new. If Kulhmann’s claims are to be believed, the reinforced protections for The Elder Scrolls came from Bethesda not wanting to be viewed as the “inferior” developers of their IPs, an argument that came about with Fallout: New Vegas. Should an Elder Scrolls spin-off had happened, the fear was that Bethesda would be further criticized for their game design in comparison to the creative choices made by other studios.
Thankfully, this anxiety over this mentality at Bethesda seems to have softened over the years due to one game’s existence — The Elder Scrolls Online. Although far from perfect at launch, ESO has made a name for itself as something familiar, yet different from what players expect from The Elder Scrolls franchise. This game marks the first time The Elder Scrolls introduced true multiplayer in an MMO format, a concept that gradually found a large audience. Kulhmann states that “there are a lot of people for whom The Elder Scrolls is now ESO. That’s their experience with it [the IP].”
With fans loving ESO‘s format without using it to draw negative comparisons to Bethesda’s normal structure, it has softened the company’s stance on games that take big chances or risks with The Elder Scrolls. At this time of writing, it is unclear if Bethesda is entertaining the idea of an Elder Scrolls spin-off now, especially after Xbox’s big internal changes. However, it’s good to know that the doomed state of Elder Scrolls spin-offs from Fallout: New Vegas‘ impact isn’t as bad anymore, with a true possibility of something different perhaps being in the series’ long-term future.
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Image Courtesy of Epic Games Publishing
