Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard has claimed the studio is actively looking for ways to increase its output in future, acknowledging the long wait between major franchise releases, and the frustrations that come with it. Speaking to Kinda Funny Games, Howard agreed that Bethesda games take a long time to create, but maintained that a focus on quality is more important than rushing into new projects.
“You know, they do take a long time, and so I think one of the things we’re focused on here is obviously making sure they’re of the highest quality, but also finding ways to increase our output,” Howard said. “We don’t want to wait that long either, right. It’s never our plan, but we want to make sure we get it right.”
The conversation arose thanks to the popularity of Amazon Prime Video’s Fallout TV series. With more viewers watching the show, and then using it as an entry point into the Fallout video games, there’s been much discussion about the future of the franchise, and how Bethesda can best capitalise on the massive success of Amazon’s foray.
Read: Fallout 5 won’t launch until well after Elder Scrolls 6
Fallout 5 is technically in the works, but it’s behind The Elder Scrolls 6 in Bethesda’s development schedule, which puts it well beyond release in 2030. The reality of the media and entertainment landscape is that enthusiastic conversations around the Fallout TV series are likely to have dried up in that period, meaning Bethesda won’t be able to properly capitalise on the show’s success in its lifetime.
Addressing this issue, Kinda Funny Games asked Howard whether Bethesda had considered engaging an external developer to aid its production output, and potentially handle development on Fallout spin-offs and non-numbered entries, while the studio continues to focus on The Elder Scrolls 6.
While Howard played coy, he did imply conversations had already taken place, and the studio hadn’t necessarily ruled out working with other studios.
“I would say we’ve always had those conversations,” he said. “We did a lot of things for the show … We look at what we’re doing with the franchise and say, do we still feel good about – I can’t reveal it now – our runway for Fallout as a franchise?”
“If I could snap my fingers and have them all be out and ready, I would, but the main thing is how do we deliver these at a high quality level.”
Based on Howard’s comments, it appears there’s major plans in the works for Fallout. It’s worth noting that Microsoft documents leaked as part of its Activision Blizzard acquisition proceedings did flag a Fallout 3 remaster as being in the works – but this is yet to be officially announced or confirmed. Whether it remains in development or not, Bethesda certainly has something cooking, so it’s best to keep an eye out for more.
