Is Bethesda Game Studios becoming too big for its own good? This is a question posed by former veteran Bethesda game developer, Nate Purkeypile, who witnessed the dramatic evolution of the studio firsthand. Bethesda’s remarkable success, spearheaded by titles like Skyrim and its consistent stream of live service games, has led to a massive influx of resources and personnel. The billion-dollar success of Skyrim injected a hefty amount of cash, while ongoing live service games like Elder Scrolls Online, Fallout 76, Fallout Shelter, and the new Elder Scrolls Castles sustain the group with consistent multi-million dollar revenues. This financial success was instrumental in funding Starfield, one of Bethesda’s most ambitious projects. However, this rapid growth hasn’t come without internal hurdles. As teams expand, so too does the complexity of the chain of command, leading to potential bottlenecks and conflicts in the sensitive content production pipeline. Game development is a notoriously complex process, often resembling a messy mishmash of creative elements. The sheer volume of revisions and collaboration involved becomes exponentially more challenging as the team size increases. This was particularly evident in the development of Starfield, which faced numerous challenges during its long and troubled journey. The game may not have even shipped in 2023 if it weren’t for the support of Microsoft’s first-party teams following the acquisition of ZeniMax. Purkeypile, who spent 14 years at Bethesda working on notable titles like Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, and Starfield, witnessed this growth firsthand. He highlights the impact of this expansion on Bethesda’s internal structure, noting the significant increase in team sizes. Fallout 3 and Skyrim were developed with relatively smaller teams of 65-110 people, while Starfield had over 500 people working internally at Bethesda Game Studios, excluding external collaborators. Purkeypile attributes his departure from Bethesda to the overwhelming number of collaborators involved in Starfield’s development. He believes this massive team size contributed to the complexity and challenges inherent in managing such a large-scale project. The experience of working on Starfield, with its massive team, seems to have cemented Purkeypile’s belief that, in the realm of game development, sometimes bigger isn’t necessarily better. The delicate balance between creative collaboration and efficient workflow is a constant challenge in the industry, and Purkeypile’s experience offers a glimpse into the complexities that can arise as studios strive for ambitious goals.
Bethesda’s Growth: A Blessing or a Curse?
