Bethesda Game Studios

Bethesda Game Studios is a developer.

Bethesda Game Studios Webpage

Bethesda Game Studios is an American development studio headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. It develops games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices, best known for its work on the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series. Since March 2021, Microsoft has owned the studio as part of Xbox Game Studios.

The history of Bethesda Game Studios

Morrowind - starting on a high note

Although the origins of Bethesda Game Studios trace back to 1986, when Bethesda Softworks was established, the development studio itself was not formed until 2001. Bethesda Softworks became responsible for publishing, and the newly created Bethesda Game Studios began developing video games. Todd Howard was appointed as the studio’s executive producer and later became one of the company’s most influential figures.

Bethesda Game Studios’ first official project was The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, released in 2002 as the third game in the beloved open-world RPG series that started in 1994. While the team mostly focused on this genre, they sometimes branched out with projects like the IHRA Drag Racing series.

The Elder Scrolls and Fallout: fantasy and post-apocalyptic worlds

Nevertheless, RPGs became the flagship genre of Bethesda Game Studios. In 2006, the long-awaited The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion was released. The game was released for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, achieving both critical and commercial success.

In 2004, Bethesda acquired the rights to the Fallout franchise, and four years later, Bethesda Game Studios released Fallout 3. Although the game, built on Oblivion’s technology and featuring a first-person perspective, did not meet the expectations of many fans of the classic titles, its commercial success motivated the developers to continue the series in later years.

The next major milestone in Bethesda Game Studios’ history came in 2011 with the release of the fifth entry in The Elder Scrolls series, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The new release proved to be a huge success, marking the studio’s greatest achievement to date.

However, the team had no intention of resting on its laurels. In 2015, the studio released more games. Among them were Fallout 4 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and Fallout Shelter, a smaller game made for mobile devices.

A time of growth and change

In the following years, the studio focused on expanding its team, releasing updated versions of its biggest games - most notably The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which appeared on nearly every platform - and developing an experimental project.

In 2015, the developer opened a new studio in Montreal, Canada. In March 2018, the company incorporated the BattleCry Studios team, later renamed Bethesda Game Studios Austin. In August 2018, Escalation Studios went through the same process, becoming Bethesda Game Studios Dallas.

The aforementioned “experiment” turned out to be Fallout 76, released in 2018, which blended RPG and survival elements with an emphasis on multiplayer gameplay. The launch of the game was unsuccessful due to significant technical and design issues. The developers responded by fixing the issues, and the game gradually improved, attracting more players each month. In the end, the game gained a strong, loyal fanbase, allowing it to keep growing as a live-service title.

Under Microsoft's wing: the release of Starfield

In March 2021, Microsoft officially acquired the company behind Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios - ZeniMax Media.

The first result of this collaboration was a brand-new IP - the first for Bethesda Softworks in 25 years - the RPG Starfield, released in September 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X/S, with no PlayStation 5 version due to Microsoft’s decision. Despite some flaws, the game was well received and achieved commercial success.

In the following months, Starfield received multiple updates from Bethesda Game Studios, adding new content and enhancements. The game’s first expansion - Shattered Space - was released on September 30th, 2024. The DLC received mixed to negative reviews, scoring 59–61 out of 100 on Metacritic and earning “mostly negative” feedback from players on Steam.