Summary
Having been in the game since the mid-1980s, Bethesda is one of the longest-running high-profile Western developers out there, and the studio has only continued to grow in popularity over the last three decades. Getting its start with sports titles likeWayne Gretzky Hockey, Bethesda would go on to reach mainstream popularity with itsThe Elder Scrollsseries, which began all the way back in 1994. The rest is history, and now Bethesda is one of the most renowned developers in the industry, with its next major AAA project,Starfield, dropping in just over a month.
Bethesda has seen its fair share of successes and failures over the years, but the only thing that matters now is how the gaming public views the studio in 2023, and opinions are a little mixed. Though Bethesda has undeniably put out some ofthe best RPGs ever made, it’s also tripped up significantly in the last decade. And while there’s already so much resting onStarfield’s shoulders, it also has the potential to be the fresh new start that Bethesda needs right now.
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Starfield is Bethesda’s Chance to Start Again
It’s no secret that Bethesda has had a rocky last decade or so. After the release ofSkyrimin 2011, Bethesda was immediately propelled to the very top of the gaming ecosphere, where the studio managed to stay for quite a few years. Afterthe one-two punch ofFallout 3andSkyrim, it was believed that Bethesda could do no wrong, but withFallout 4’s release in 2015, the first seeds of doubt were sprinkled in some fans' minds. ThoughFallout 4is a good game in its own right, it isn’t quite the major sequel that fans were hoping it would be, and with the disastrous launch ofFallout 76in 2018, public perception of Bethesda completely flipped almost overnight.
Once at the top of the world, the studio’s 2018 debacle was quite the fall. But Bethesda has slowly managed to crawl itself back from the brink of failure.Fallout 76has received countless updates and expansions, and though it still isn’t the game fans really wanted, it is a much more enjoyable experience. And with the studio taking a good deal of accountability for its more recent failures, public perception of Bethesda is shifting once more.
Now, it’s all down toStarfield. Not just Xbox’s saving grace,Starfieldalso represents a brand-new chapter for Bethesda, and could have the power to wipe the slate clean entirely. WhileStarfieldis still an open-world RPGwith plenty of usual Bethesda game systems and mechanics, it’s different enough fromThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutto make it stand on its own. With a sci-fi setting, ship flying and customization mechanics, a ton of planets to explore, and a more extensive progression system than ever before,Starfieldis by far Bethesda’s most ambitious project yet, and with that ambition comes the potential of starting a new era for Bethesda.
It’s an extremely tall order, but ifStarfieldsomehow manages to deliver on the monumental hype surrounding it, then it could shoot Bethesda straight back up to its number-one spot at the top of the Western gaming world. But where there’s the potential for a monumental reward, there’s also a hefty risk associated with it. IfStarfielddoesn’t manage to deliver, then that could do irreparable damage to Bethesda’s already vulnerable brand, and with potentially three high-profile disappointments in a row,Starfieldcould easily be the end of an era as much as it can start a new one.
Starfieldlaunches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
