The games from Bethesda, such as parts of The Elder Scrolls series or more recently Starfield, are known for not being fully optimized when they are released. An employee of the studio now explains why this is the case.
Which developer are we talking about? Bruce Nesmith has been involved in key positions with some of Bethesda’s biggest titles. He made significant contributions, especially to The Elder Scrolls. He worked as a designer on Daggerfall and created quests for Oblivion, and even took on the role of lead designer for Skyrim.
Nesmith is well-versed in the processes during the development of such a large and complex game. Therefore, he knows what pitfalls can occur before release. According to him, even the games he was involved in are far from perfect—especially at their launch.
On September 30, 2024, the “Shattered Space” expansion for Starfield was released and is considered by some to be the best DLC from Bethesda. Here is the trailer.
More refinement would be possible
What does Bruce Nesmith say? In an interview with Videogamer, he talks about the final phase of development when the actual game is complete, but quality tests are still being conducted. These are supposed to ensure that a title like Starfield is as bug-free as possible upon release – even though the studio’s history suggested otherwise.
“I am the first to say that Bethesda’s games could be more polished,” Nesmith says in the interview. Even at launch, there are still bugs that trigger frustration in the community. However, Nesmith also explains that Bethesda’s games are so extensive that one could “forgive a certain lack of refinement.”
Why are the games not perfect? While more time and money could be invested to fix existing issues, complete perfection does not exist, according to Nesmith. The games would only become “better,” but not flawless. Furthermore, a release would have to be postponed by months. Whether that would be worth it is questionable.
According to the developer, fan expectations are anyway impossible to meet:
Players expect the game to be flawless and not have any bugs. That is their expectation. You don’t have to like it, but it’s there. And you won’t achieve it. So what marketing has to do is say how we can get as close to that expectation as possible. How can we ensure that these people don’t hate us for what is wrong, but love us for what is right?
Bruce Nesmith via Videogamer
For these reasons, a game ultimately appears with some bugs. Whether players truly forgive developers varies from case to case. While some bugs create funny moments in the game, others can lead to bigger problems. The former marketing chief of Bethesda, Pete Hines, has his own opinion on this topic: he explains why bugs are part of Starfield: one “accepts the chaos”
