"Most people" at Bethesda wanted to make Elder Scrolls 6 before Starfield, claims Skyrim co-lead, but Todd Howard dragged them aboard his rocketship

What came first, the chicken or the egg? In the chaotic ecosystem of game development, this question often manifests as a conflict between corporate vision and individual creativity. In a recent revelation from Kurt Kuhlmann, a longtime Bethesda Game Studios veteran and co-lead designer on Skyrim, the answer regarding their next big project seems surprisingly clear: the collective hope of the development team for The Elder Scrolls 6 was far older than the actual greenlighting of Starfield. Kuhlmann, who has been with the studio for over two decades, suggests that a significant portion of the crew was already mentally prepped to pick up their keyboards and begin work on the next chapter of the Tamriel saga immediately following the release of Fallout 4.

This sentiment paints a portrait of a team that had successfully delivered a massive, world-changing title and was eager to continue building the legacy they had helped craft. For many developers, the prospect of returning to the rich, sprawling fantasy of The Elder Scrolls series represents a natural progression of their career and a chance to explore new corners of a beloved universe. The idea that the staff was "whisked along" on an interstellar journey implies a sudden, almost jarring pivot from the grounded, gritty atmosphere of the Wasteland to the sci-fi setting of the Outer Rim. It suggests a disconnect between the workforce's expectations and the leadership's strategic direction, a classic friction point in large-scale software development where visionaries often outpace the consensus of the group.

Todd Howard, the studio's creative director and the architect of both the Skyrim and Fallout franchises, has long been the primary voice defining the studio's trajectory. His reputation is built on the ability to synthesize player desires with technical feasibility, yet this account highlights a specific instance where his vision seemingly overrode the immediate wishes of his team. By charting a course toward Starfield, Howard essentially redirected the creative energy that was already flowing toward a sequel to The Elder Scrolls. While this move may seem risky or even counter-intuitive to fans who crave another installment in the fantasy series, it underscores Howard's confidence in his own design philosophy. He believed that a space-focused RPG offered a fresh canvas that could revitalize the studio's output in a way that a direct sequel might not.

The implications of this narrative extend beyond mere scheduling; they speak to the difficult balance between maintaining brand continuity and pushing creative boundaries. For a studio as iconic as Bethesda, the pressure to satisfy fan expectations for specific franchises is immense. However, the decision to pivot to a space opera suggests a belief that innovation requires stepping away from established formulas. If the team had indeed been fully committed to starting The Elder Scrolls 6 immediately, the resulting game might have felt derivative, lacking the unique spark that comes from exploring entirely new concepts. Howard's gamble was to trust that a departure from the fantasy genre would ultimately serve the longevity of the Elder Scrolls brand by introducing new mechanics and ideas that could be folded into future entries.

Ultimately, this story serves as a reminder of the human element within the machinery of game development. Behind the marketing campaigns and the release dates are individuals with dreams and expectations of their own. Kuhlmann's account humanizes the often-mythologized figure of Todd Howard, portraying him not just as a genius visionary, but as a leader who made a bold, perhaps controversial, call to action. Whether players view this decision as a necessary evolution or a betrayal of fan expectations, it remains a testament to the high-stakes nature of creating worlds that millions inhabit. The path chosen led to Starfield, but the ghost of The Elder Scrolls 6 still lingers in the conversations of the developers, a silent debate about where the soul of a legacy studio truly lies.