The development path at Bethesda Game Studios, particularly the shift from an anticipated The Elder Scrolls 6 to the new intellectual property Starfield, was not a universally expected move among the studio's staff, according to former Skyrim co-lead designer Kurt Kuhlmann.
Kuhlmann, who joined Bethesda in 1996 and held significant roles including lead writer for Oblivion and co-lead designer for Skyrim, departed the studio in 2023. He shared in an interview with Frvr that the prevailing expectation was for The Elder Scrolls 6 to follow Fallout 4. This expectation, however, was altered by the development of Fallout 76, which occupied the studio's resources for a period. Kuhlmann indicated that even before the Starfield announcement, there was no firm internal plan for The Elder Scrolls 6 to be the immediate next project for the entire studio.
The direction then shifted decisively when Todd Howard informed the team of the plan to create Starfield. "Todd was like: 'No, we're doing Starfield. I got that approved. It's going to be a new IP. It's going to be this ambitious [game]. It's going to be the greatest space RPG ever made,'" Kuhlmann recounted. This announcement, he suggested, likely followed opportunities for Howard to secure approval for Starfield over The Elder Scrolls 6 after the success of Fallout 4.
Kuhlmann, who expressed a personal preference for working on The Elder Scrolls 6 over Fallout 76 and Starfield, believes this sentiment was shared by a majority of the development team. He characterized the transition to Starfield not as a collective studio desire, but rather as a directive: "It wasn't like Starfield was this big internal like, 'Hey, we all want to make this space game, Todd.' It was very much, 'Guess what, team? We're making this space game.'"
This perspective aligns with accounts from other former Bethesda employees, some of whom have described a studio culture where direct opposition to Todd Howard's decisions was rare, potentially hindering the exploration of alternative project paths.