- Starfield will allow players to choose their own pronouns - 12 November 2021
Bethesda's Todd Howard has confirmed players will be able to choose their pronouns in Starfield. In a Reddit AMA , Howard answered fan questions on a number of topics. One fan asked if the character creator would be "more complicated". "Really excited about what the team has done with character creation here," replied Howard. "Including choosing background, skills, etc. You also can pick your pronoun (he, she, they) and we've recorded all the relevant dialogue to support that choice." Read more
- Bethesda has a "one-pager" for Fallout 5, but it's still a long way off - 9 November 2021
As one of Bethesda's biggest and most beloved series, it's not much of a revelation to hear the company is already mulling over a new Fallout instalment, but studio director Todd Howard has now talked a little about a potential new series entry, confirming that while an idea exists, Fallout 5 is still a long way off. Speaking to IGN as part of a Skyrim 10th anniversary retrospective, Howard explained that currently the studio has a "one-pager" for Fallout 5, outlining what it wants to do with the series. However, sci-fi adventure Starfield, due to release next year, and The Elder Scrolls 6 - which was still in its design phase as of June this year - remain the studio's priority, meaning it could be years before work on the next Fallout begins in earnest. When asked about the possibility of shifting responsibility for a new Fallout over to another studio - after all, Fallout: New Vegas d…
- New video reveals Starfield's Settled Systems - 20 October 2021
A new video on Starfield gives us a look at The Settled Systems - and plenty of concept art. Bethesda's space RPG will take place in The Settled Systems, an area that extends outwards from our solar system for approximately 50 light years. Around 20 years before the start of the game, two factions - the United Colonies and The Freestar Collective - engaged in a bloody colony war. Read more
- Bethesda tours three Starfield locations - 27 August 2021
Bethesda has released a behind-the-scenes look at three locations set to be featured in Starfield, its upcoming sci-fi RPG. Concept art for the space port of New Atlantis, colonial city of Akila and pleasure hub of Neon lie below in three brief videos narrated by design director Emil Pagliarulo. Let's start with New Atlantis, a melting pot of a spaceport with towering buildings and a diverse cast of characters to interact with. Read more
- Microsoft says it will use cloud streaming to bring 2022 exclusives to Xbox One - 16 June 2021
Microsoft has said how it plans to keep Xbox One going next year even as developers make use of more powerful hardware: cloud streaming. In a post on Xbox Wire , Microsoft said some exclusives set for 2022 require the power of the Xbox Series X and S and so will use Xbox Cloud Gaming to run on the eight-year old Xbox One. Microsoft confirmed it will use Xbox Cloud Gaming to bring Microsoft Flight Simulator, for example, to Xbox One. Read more
- Starfield launches November 2022 for PC, Xbox Series X/S - 13 June 2021
Bethesda's highly anticipated Starfield will launch on 11th November 2022. Its launch platforms are listed as PC and Xbox Series X/S only. And, of course, it'll be available via Xbox Game Pass. Starfield's two-minute trailer was posted by The Washington Post an hour ahead of tonight's Xbox and Bethesda livestream. We then saw it confirmed officially at the start of Microsoft's Xbox and Bethesda show. Read more
- Eurogamer News Cast E3 2021 predictions special! - 11 June 2021
E3 is upon us! Last night, Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest show ended in spectacular fashion: the full reveal of Elden Ring . Now suitably pumped for the reveals to come, the Eurogamer News Cast has a stab at E3 predictions. Join Eurogamer reporter Emma Kent, news editor Tom Phillips and me in the video below to find out what to expect. We run through all the major shows set for this weekend and the following couple of days: Ubisoft, Xbox and Bethesda, Square Enix, Capcom, Nintendo Direct and Bandai Namco. There are knowns, known unknowns, and unknown unknowns. Such is E3! All this and our usual 'what we've been playing' and 'mug check' segments are included in this week's show. Enjoy! Read more
- Microsoft and Bethesda set June date for this year's E3-adjacent Xbox showcase - 26 May 2021
We're a little over two weeks away from this year's attempt at an online-only E3 , meaning everyone'll soon be sinking into the familiar swamp of showcase schedules and diary dates required to keep track of the event and everything around it. Wisely starting early to avoid the ensuing scramble, though, Microsoft has announced a 13th June air date for this year's E3-adjacent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase. It'll be a significant event for a number of reasons, not least because it's the first joint announcement show for the two companies following Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda last year, and things kick off at 10am PT on Sunday, 13th June - which, for us UK folk, equates to an entirely tolerable 6pm in the evening. It's a long one too, with Microsoft promising 90-minutes of announcements - hopefully that's a taut 90 minutes with none of the waffly filler it usually loves to pad ou…
- Starfield release date reportedly late 2022 - 20 May 2021
Starfield launches late 2022, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier. Schreier tweeted to say Bethesda plans to tease this release date at E3 next month. Bethesda announced Starfield at E3 2018 , calling the game its "next generation" first-person sci-fi RPG. Read more
- What Microsoft's Bethesda exclusives mean for the future - it's the Eurogamer News Cast! - 12 March 2021
Well, now we know: future Bethesda games will be exclusive to "platforms where Game Pass exists". That's how Xbox boss Phil Spencer put it this week , confirming the likes of Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 will not come out on PlayStation 5. What does this mean for the future of Bethesda games? The Dooms and Fallout of this world? And what about that Indiana Jones game Bethesda is working on? Eurogamer news editor Tom Phillips, reporter Emma Kent and me discuss all this and more in this week's Eurogamer News Cast, below. Elsewhere, we run through next week's Square Enix Presents event , which promises to reveal the new Life is Strange game as well as the future of the embattled Marvel's Avengers. And what's in store for Tomb Raider's 25th anniversary? Read more
- Microsoft confirms "some" Bethesda games will be full Xbox and PC exclusive - 9 March 2021
Microsoft has confirmed that "some new titles" from Bethesda and parent company Zenimax Studios will be "exclusive to Xbox and PC". There's no qualifier of timed exclusivity here. There's no mention of which games. "This is the next step in building an industry-leading first party studios team, a commitment we have to our Xbox community," Xbox boss Phil Spencer wrote today in an Xbox Wire post to mark the historic $7.5bn deal being finalised . Read more
- Microsoft to reportedly broadcast big Bethesda briefing - 9 March 2021
Microsoft will reportedly hold a video presentation this Thursday, 11th March, to detail how Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax will be folded into its portfolio of Xbox studios. That's according to a Venturebeat report, which states Microsoft will soon confirm the event publicly. The event is not described as a games showcase - so don't expect to see much of under-wraps projects like Starfield. Read more
- Zenimax CEO Robert A. Altman dies aged 73 - 5 February 2021
Robert A. Altman, co-founder and CEO of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media, has died at the age of 73. Born in 1947, Altman initially worked as a lawyer, before setting up ZeniMax Media in 1999 alongside Bethesda founder Christopher Weaver. Altman later took over as its sole boss and has headed the company ever since. "We are deeply saddened to tell you of the passing of Robert A. Altman, our Founder and CEO," ZeniMax said in a statement posted to Twitter. "He was a true visionary, friend, and believer in the spirit of people and the power of what they could accomplish together. He was an extraordinary leader, and an even better human being." No cause of death was mentioned. Read more
- Whoops! Bethesda boss' T-shirt seems to validate leaked Starfield screenshots from earlier in the year - 5 November 2020
Here's the dilemma: your boss is getting a kind of lifetime achievement award and you've been asked to contribute to a video montage bigging them up. Shouldn't be hard. But what do you wear? That's the issue. Go smart? No, too formal, these are video games we're talking about. But you want to keep some kind of professionalism about you. You are the managing director of Bethesda Game Studios after all. Got it! You'll go on-brand. You've got that T-shirt, remember? New owner Microsoft will love it - that Phil Spencer, he's all about a well-placed tee. It's a win-win. You can look professional while promoting your new game Starfield at the same time. Bin-go. What could possibly go wrong? Read more
- Bethesda games don't have to launch on PlayStation for Microsoft's $7.5bn deal to pay off, Xbox boss insists - 17 October 2020
Bethesda games don't have to launch on PlayStation for Microsoft's $7.5bn acquisition of the company to pay off, Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said. In an interview with Kotaku's Stephen Totilo , Spencer was asked whether it was possible to recoup the $7.5bn purchase of Bethesda if Microsoft doesn't sell The Elder Scrolls 6 on PlayStation consoles. "Yes," Spencer replied, before saying Microsoft doesn't have to ship Bethesda games "on any other platform other than the platforms that we support in order to... make the deal work for us". Read more
- Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda is all about Game Pass - 21 September 2020
It feels like we've been holding our collective breath for it without realising. Ever since Microsoft set about fixing Xbox's weakness in first-party studios with an acquisition spree that started last year - picking up many mid-sized outfits such as Playground Games, Ninja Theory and Obsidian - we've been waiting for the megaton, the super-acquisition that would snap up some high-profile studio and treasured franchise. Reports circulated recently that talks to buy Bungie had fallen through . Some figured that an even bigger target might be in play, all the way up to and including super-publishers like EA and Activision Blizzard. It turns out those speculations were not as wild as you might have thought. Microsoft has announced its intention to buy Bethesda parent ZeniMax for an eye-watering $7.5 billion - three times what it paid for Minecraft maker Mojang, and only a billion short of…
- Bethesda's doing E3 this year - 18 March 2019
Bethesda will have a media briefing at E3 2019, it's announced . The company's E3 showcase is set for Monday, 10th June at 1.30am UK time. It'll be a late one! So, what do we expect? Bethesda has said Doom Eternal will get an in-depth look, so that's guaranteed. But what else? How about something from Arkane, the developer of Dishonored and Prey, more on Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a big expansion for Fallout 76 and another glimpse at Bethesda Game Studio's Starfield? Read more
- Todd Howard reveals "by far the greatest thing" Bethesda Game Studios does - 23 July 2018
Bethesda Games Studios, maker of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, tends to be a pretty secretive place. We won't hear anything for ages and then announcements for Fallout: 76, Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 come along at once and everybody frantically starts planning time off work. The games are great but they're not, according to studio leader Todd Howard, the greatest thing Bethesda Game Studios does. That honour belongs to something the studio doesn't shout about, a fairly private thing. Every so often Bethesda Game Studios opens its doors to terminally ill children who wish to see where their favourite games are made. It's part of the company's quiet ongoing support of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. "You want a reality check at work..." -Todd Howard. Read more…
