Ex-Bethesda dev says the studio no longer had the “freedom” that made Skyrim great when making Starfield

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Despite Starfield offering an enjoyable sci-fi RPG experience with its standout features, it can’t replicate the enchantment of Skyrim. Even after 14 years, Skyrim continues to captivate a vast community of gamers who yearn for more immersion in that universe. But what factors could have diluted the Bethesda magic over time?

As per ex-developer Nate Purkeypile who worked on games like Skyrim, Fallout, and Starfield for Bethesda, the level of creative freedom once available to developers at the company has significantly reduced. In contrast to the experimental era of Bethesda’s past, such freedom is scarcely found now.

Skyrim freedom no longer exists at Bethesda’s

At the Game Developers Conference, as reported by PC Gamer, Purkeypile shared an interesting point: some of Skyrim’s most memorable aspects were born out of the developers’ creative autonomy.

In Skyrim, much of its brilliance comes from the ability to freely explore and make choices, rather than games structured around strict checklists or decisions made collectively,” he added.

Back in the day, during the creation of Starfield, I parted ways with Bethesda Game Studios due to an overwhelming number of meetings they held. Contrast that with the Skyrim development era, where ideas could flow freely without endless discussions. These talks don’t just slow down the process, but they also choke creativity – perhaps explaining why The Elder Scrolls 6 is taking so long to materialize.

Currently, Purkeypile is engaged in his personal endeavor, which goes by the name “The Axis Unseen”. This is an innovative open-world horror title that’s reminiscent of Skyrim in development. You can grab it from Steam immediately, and interestingly, it’s currently on sale as we speak.

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2025-03-27 15:42