Bethesda’s first new IP in over a decade is facing development issues, according to a new report. The information comes from a post on 4chan that points to serious issues with the game’s development.
Announced at E3 2018, Bethesda is planning to release Starfield by 2020. The game is using the same engine as Fallout 76 which is criticized for its horrible optimization. The engine is dated and it shows. Over the years, Bethesda has made improvements to its set of tools but nothing has fixed the core problems of the Creation Engine.
The panic surrounding Fallout 76 has caused other Bethesda project to unravel. As a result, Starfield is stuck in a development loop, according to the post. All Bethesda studios are trying to fix the game, however, it has already been rebooted multiple times.
The game’s engine is the main problem and it doesn’t allow space combat to work as intended. The main storyline of the game has been rewritten twice. There are some management issues too as there is no oversight or direction, it isn’t clear who is in charge of the project.
Fallout 76’s troubled release reportedly forced Bethesda to take another look at Starfield. And if this report is to be believed, Starfield is nowhere near ready to ship in the next two years. The game could be delayed and since we don’t have a release date, we will never know if it is pushed back at all.
Bethesda using the same engine as Fallout 76 means some of the core issues faced by the game would end up in Starfield as well. Bethesda is in the business of releasing minimum viable products and later build on the base. However, the community doesn’t think buggy Bethesda launches are charming anymore.
What gives merit to this report is the fact that The Elder Scrolls Blades is delayed to 2019. The report claims that Bethesda delayed it because it wasn’t fun at all. It needed rework which means it could face further delays in the future.
Bethesda CEO, Robert A. Altman, wishes to monetize pretty much every aspect of his games and have little knowledge of actual game design. The post basically called Altman a “criminal.” This also puts a question mark on the future of The Elder Scrolls 6. It is another project that’s using the same Creation Engine.
