Bethesda’s Todd Howard is hyping up an upcoming unannounced project that he’s “in love with,” but what’s known about the game may surprise some people.Bethesdais known for a diverse range of published games, from Bethesda Game Studios' open-world projects likeStarfieldand theElder Scrolls, to MachineGames’Wolfensteinseries. It also is continuing to pursue expansion in the mobile space, which is what Howard’s exciting upcoming project is.
The mobile games that Bethesda has released have had somewhat of a mixed response so far. Obviously,Fallout Shelteris a standout example, a surprise launch during E3 2015 that led to it instantly becoming one of the highest-grossing games on iOS.The Elder Scrolls: BladesandThe Elder Scrolls: Legendshave both had their respective issues, but undoubtedly performed well if only due to theElder Scrollsbranding. What comes next is a mystery.
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Speaking with Lex Fridman on his podcast, Todd Howard confirmed that there’s a new mobile game being worked on by Bethesda. Howard wasn’t able to say anything about the project, but he did say that he’s “in love with” the game. Note that Howard didn’t explicitly state it’s aBethesda Games Studios title, and could instead be another studio’s project published by Bethesda akin toThe Elder Scrolls: Legends.
Howard did go on to talk about mobile gaming in a more general sense. He referred toFallout Shelter, which he described as having players enjoy the game “for hours a day.” He mentions how kids will stare at their phones endlessly and “that’s all they do.” He thinks the younger generation of video game players would “rather sit at their phone than play it on the big screen.” In this way, Howard is making the argument that mobile devices are deserving of the attention Bethesda is giving them.
BothFallout ShelterandThe Elder Scrolls: Bladeswere developed by Bethesda Game Studios.The Elder Scrolls: Legendswas made by Dire Wolf Digital, and supported by Sparkypants Studios, both third-party partners. ZeniMax Media also acquired a mobile game studio namedAlpha Dog Gamesin 2019, which is working on a game named Mighty Doom. The title Howard is referencing could have come from any of these sources.
While most of Bethesda’s long-term fans would tend to prefer its console and PC offerings, there’s no argument that its mobile games have been lucrative. Howard describing them as games kids love to play endlessly isn’t exactly an encouraging approach to design, but it is the approach to modern live-service game development. Mobile, live-service, or otherwise, it will be interesting to see whatBethesdahas made and whether it stands out as a great game on its own.
