Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks is a developer and publisher.

Bethesda Softworks Webpage

Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game developer and publisher for PC, consoles, and mobile devices, founded in 1986. The company is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, USA, and maintains an extensive network of regional offices around the world. Since 1995, Vlatko Andonov has served as the president of Bethesda Softworks. Since 1999, the company has been owned by ZeniMax Media, which was co-founded by Christopher Weaver, the creator of Bethesda. On September 21, 2020, it was officially announced that ZeniMax Media - and with it Bethesda Softworks - had been acquired by Microsoft. The transaction was worth a whopping $7.5 billion.

• Bethesda Softworks as a game developer
• Bethesda Softworks as a game publisher
• The history of Bethesda Software

Bethesda Softworks as a game developer

From the very beginning, Bethesda focused mainly on developing games for personal computers, particularly for the Commodore Amiga and PC. Among the most important titles from Bethesda’s early years were the sports series Wayne Gretzky Hockey, the first-person shooter series The Terminator, and the RPG series The Elder Scrolls - the latter of which remains one of the company’s flagship brands to this day. In 1999, following its acquisition by ZeniMax Media, Bethesda Softworks shifted its focus primarily to publishing, while development duties were assumed by a newly established division within the company - Bethesda Game Studios. Today, Bethesda’s internal studios in Rockville (USA) and Montreal (Canada) focus primarily on the development of its two flagship franchises: The Elder Scrolls series, which began in 1994, and the post-apocalyptic Fallout series, acquired in 2004 from the struggling Interplay Entertainment.

Bethesda Softworks as a game publisher

For the first dozen or so years of its operation, Bethesda Softworks was exclusively self-publishing. Their strategy shifted in 1999 following its acquisition by ZeniMax Media. Around the turn of the 21st century, Bethesda released numerous titles developed by external studios. Among the most notable were Sea Dogs: Pirates (2000), two installments of Pirates of the Caribbean (2003–2006), Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth (2005), and several Star Trek games (2006–2007).

By the end of the 2000s, during a period of dynamic growth, Bethesda released several more hits from external developers, including WET (2009), Rogue Warrior (2009), Fallout: New Vegas (2010), Brink (2011), and Hunted: Demon's Forge (2011). Today, Bethesda Softworks - one of the most experienced names in the publishing market - focuses primarily on publishing games developed by studios owned by ZeniMax Media. Among these, it’s worth highlighting studios such as:

1. Arkane Studios (Dishonored and Prey series),
2. Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, as well as Starfield).
3. id Software (Rage, Doom and Quake series),
4. Machine Games (Wolfenstein series),
5. ZeniMax Online (The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited).

The history of Bethesda Software

Prehistory

Bethesda Softworks was founded in 1986 by Christopher Weaver, who had previously worked with NBC and ABC television stations, as well as the United States Congress. Based in Bethesda, Maryland (USA), the studio originally operated as a branch of Media Technology Limited, a company founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduates. Interestingly, the studio was originally going to be called Softworks, but when they discovered that the name was already taken, they decided to add the name of their home city, becoming Bethesda Softworks. Weaver’s interest in the gaming industry began by accident, when one of his engineers asked him for feedback on a sports game project he was working on. Weaver’s modified game, commonly known as Gridiron!, was released in 1986 for the Commodore 64/128 and Atari ST. Its considerable success led to Weaver and his colleagues being hired by Electronic Arts to work on the first installment of John Madden Football. However, the collaboration ended quickly and led to Bethesda filing a lawsuit against EA.

The Elder Scrolls era

In 1988, Bethesda Softworks released its first major title, the sports simulation Wayne Gretzky Hockey for the Amiga and Atari ST. The game spawned two sequels in 1990–91, which were released exclusively for PCs. Meanwhile, the company moved its headquarters to Rockville, Maryland, and released the first installment of the Terminator series, based on John Carpenter's film franchise starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Developed as a first-person action game, the title was a major success, spawning a series that continued until 1996 and became one of Bethesda's flagship brands, a hallmark of the company for years to come. To avoid being pigeonholed, the American developer pivoted to a completely different genre in 1994 with the fantasy RPG The Elder Scrolls: Arena. The game quickly surpassed the Terminator series in popularity and gained cult status, even though its sequel, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall, released three years later, went down in history as one of the buggiest video games of all time, jokingly nicknamed "Buggerfall".

Between 1995 and 1997, Bethesda Softworks acquired the relatively unknown development studio Flashpoint Productions and the graphics studio XL Translab. A little later, two spin-off installments of The Elder Scrolls series were released, but their poor sales brought Bethesda to the brink of bankruptcy for the first time in its history. The studio’s salvation came with the founding of ZeniMax Media in May 1999, co-founded by Bethesda’s creator, Christopher Weaver. The newly formed company acquired Bethesda Softworks along with its parent company, Media Technology Limited. Shortly thereafter, significant changes reshaped the group: Bethesda Softworks shifted its focus primarily to publishing games, including those from external studios, while the newly established Bethesda Studios took over the role of developer. The company also revived the previously abandoned PBA Tour Bowling series (1995–2000) and introduced a completely new brand, the IHRA Drag Racing series (2000–2006).

A new beginning for the Fallout series

In 2002, Bethesda decided to revive one of its key brands, The Elder Scrolls series. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, equipped with a modern 3D engine, was a commercial success and received two official expansions. The real breakthrough for Bethesda Softworks came in 2004, when the company secured a license from the struggling Interplay Entertainment to further develop the post-apocalyptic RPG series Fallout. Fallout 3, released in 2008, brought the classic mechanics of the series into full 3D, restoring the franchise’s former glory – and boosting Bethesda’s reputation in the process. The game received five DLC expansions and also spawned a spin-off developed by Obsidian Entertainment, Fallout: New Vegas (2010). Meanwhile, the critically acclaimed The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006) hit the market, and Bethesda stepped up its publishing activities, releasing titles such as two Pirates of the Caribbean games (2003–2006) and several licensed games from the popular Star Trek series (2006–2007).

Starting in 2007, Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax Media began to grow rapidly, fueled by capital from Providence Equity Partners. In February 2008, the company launched ZeniMax Europe, a branch responsible for distributing Bethesda titles across the United Kingdom and the European Union. Between 2008 and 2013, Bethesda expanded its global presence by opening local offices in Tokyo, Frankfurt, Paris, the Benelux region, Hong Kong, and Sydney. On June 24, 2009, ZeniMax Media acquired the legendary studio id Software. The first games from the creators of Doom and Quake released under the new label were Rage (2010) and a remastered version of Doom 3: BFG Edition (2012). In the following years, id Software also developed new entries in its classic franchises, including Doom (2016) and Quake Champions (2017).

Between 2009 and 2011, Bethesda Softworks published several well-received titles developed by third-party studios, including Rogue Warrior (2009), WET (2009), Brink (2011), and Hunted: Demon's Forge (2011). The year 2010 was marked by several major acquisitions by ZeniMax Media, which brought developers such as the French Arkane Studios, the Swedish MachineGames, and the Japanese Tango Gameworks into the fold. The games developed by these studios were, naturally, published by Bethesda. In 2011, the fifth installment of the legendary Elder Scrolls series hit the shelves and quickly became one of the franchise’s best-selling entries. Just a year later Arkane Studios released a highly successful,steampunk first-person action game, Dishonored.

In 2014, Bethesda launched the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, developed by ZeniMax Online, and introduced two new IPs: the survival horror The Evil Within and a fresh installment in the iconic Wolfenstein series, handled by Machine Games after acquiring the rights from id Software. In 2015, Bethesda Softworks took a major step onto the big stage, hosting its very first E3 conference and joining the ranks of the industry’s biggest players. In December that year, Bethesda Game Studios expanded north, opening a brand-new branch in Montreal, Canada. In 2016, Bethesda launched Dishonored 2 and the fourth main installment in the Fallout series, while Fallout Shelter marked the company’s first original game made specifically for mobile devices. In 2017, Bethesda released a card-based spin-off of its flagship franchise, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, along with Prey, a first-person action game reimagining the classic shooter originally developed by Human Head Studios, whose rights ZeniMax Media had acquired in 2009. That year also saw the launch of The Evil Within 2 from Tango Gameworks, Dishonored: Death of the Outsider by Arkane Studios, and Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus from Machine Games. Bethesda Softworks also ventured into virtual reality, releasing Doom VFR, a VR spin-off of the iconic Doom series, along with Fallout 4 VR, a special VR adaptation of Fallout 4.

Image crisis

In 2018, the publisher had to face a huge image crisis. At E3, Bethesda announced The Elder Scrolls VI, the next installment in its bestselling series, alongside Starfield, the first new franchise in 25 years - giving fans plenty of reason to look to the future with optimism. However, the Fallout series’ spin-off released in November, the multiplayer-focused Fallout 76, turned out to be a total flop. On one hand, the game was riddled with bugs; on the other, its design was outdated and failed to meet modern standards. Although the developers rushed out patches, they often fixed one issue only to create another. Players slammed Bethesda, and Fallout 76 endured a series of public missteps, quickly becoming the industry's punchline.

The year 2019 was also not very kind to the company. RAGE 2, a first-person shooter developed by Avalanche Studios and id Software, received a moderately warm reception, as did Wolfenstein: Youngblood, a spin-off created through the collaboration of Machine Games and Arkane Studios. Additionally, the release of Doom Eternal, originally scheduled for November 22, was postponed to March 20, 2020. Meanwhile, the first three entries in this iconic series, released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch, initially required a connection to the Bethesda.net platform, sparking considerable controversy. It’s safe to say that in 2019, only The Elder Scrolls Online and The Elder Scrolls: Legends came through unscathed, both receiving high-quality expansions.

In 2020, Bethesda Softworks launched Doom Eternal, which hit PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on March 20. The game was later scheduled for release on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. It was both an artistic and commercial success - suffice it to say that it made twice as much money as its predecessor during its opening weekend. Riding the wave of success, id Software quickly announced an extensive expansion, The Ancient Gods. On the same day, they also re-released Doom 64, originally developed for the Nintendo 64. In 2020, the publisher also focused on giving players a glimpse of upcoming titles from its portfolio. This included Deathloop, an action game with roguelike elements from Arkane Studios, and Ghostwire: Tokyo, developed by Tango Gameworks. Both games were set for release on PC and PlayStation 5, with timed exclusivity on the console side for the latter. It looked like Bethesda had formed a pretty close partnership with Sony.

Moving under Microsoft's wing

On September 21, news broke that Microsoft had acquired Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, bringing Bethesda itself under the tech giant's wing. The Redmond giant spent $7.5 billion on the acquisition, with the deal set to take effect in the second half of fiscal year 2021. What did that mean?

From now on, every game carrying the publisher’s logo would launch day-one on Xbox Game Pass for both PC and Xbox consoles. The move also gave Bethesda’s teams the resources and freedom to create even better games than before. Interestingly, Bethesda would continue to operate in the market as both a developer and a publisher. Additionally, the Redmond giant had no plans to interfere with the existing exclusivity deals between Bethesda and Sony. Shortly after, Todd Howard, one of the studio’s most recognizable figures, promised players that the Creation Engine behind their games had received truly revolutionary upgrades. This upgrade promised the biggest leap in graphics for games using the engine since The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

On January 12, just a day after Disney revived the Lucasfilm Games brand, Bethesda Softworks announced it would be publishing a new Indiana Jones game. The game, developed by Machine Games - one of Bethesda’s studios - was created under the supervision of Todd Howard. Although only a short teaser accompanied the announcement, it offered hints about the game’s time period and setting. Additionally, subtle hints suggested that the project might be an FPS. However, the publisher tempered players’ excitement, noting that it would be some time before any specific details about the game were revealed. Ahead of E3 2021, Microsoft and Bethesda teamed up for a joint presentation, the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase. At the event, the first full-length trailer for Starfield debuted, with the release date announced as November 11, 2022. In addition, Arkane Studios unveiled a new game, Redfall, which was slated for a summer 2022 release. Both of these games were planned as exclusives for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

In the end, though, neither game launched on schedule. What’s more, before the new releases hit stores, Bethesda put out The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, a special edition of their bestselling RPG celebrating its tenth anniversary. Meanwhile, Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo were released, along with Hi-Fi Rush, which pleasantly surprised players and received a warm reception on Xbox Series X/S and via Xbox Game Pass.

Redfall's defeat and Starfield's victory

Redfall, the Arkane Studios game originally announced for 2021, finally launched on PC and Xbox Series X/S in May 2023. Unfortunately, the game flopped, with both sales and reviews falling far short of expectations. It’s enough to say that on Steam, the game received “mostly negative” reviews, while on Metacritic, industry scores averaged just 53–56 out of 100, depending on the platform. Arkane Studios didn’t give up, though, and in October they released a major patch to improve the game.

Fortunately, Starfield did not share Redfall's fate. In the end, the game finally launched in September 2023, earning both commercial success and critical acclaim. The game became one of Microsoft’s biggest launches ever and marked the largest release in Bethesda’s history. Additionally, it received “mostly positive” reviews on Steam, with industry scores on Metacritic ranging between 83 and 86 out of 100, depending on the platform.

On October 16, 2023, just as Bethesda was starting to regain its footing, Pete Hines, senior vice president and head of the company’s publishing division, announced he was leaving the studio. Hines has decided to retire after 24 years at Bethesda.

In April 2024, Amazon released its own original Fallout TV series. The show was very well received, but Bethesda faced a tough challenge - its teams were primarily focused on The Elder Scrolls VI, while Fallout 76 and the next-gen update of Fallout 4 weren’t able to ride that wave of success like a brand-new title might have.

Unfortunately, that was the end of the positive news for Bethesda. At the start of May 2024, Bethesda Softworks delivered some grim news: four of its development studios were being shut down. The closures affected Arkane Austin, with some employees being reassigned to other company branches, Tango Gameworks, Alpha Dog - whose only project was Mighty Doom - and Roundhouse Studios, where staff were set to join ZeniMax Online to continue work on The Elder Scrolls Online. Interestingly, in August 2024, Tango Gameworks got a second lease on life when it was acquired by Krafton, along with the rights to the Hi-Fi Rush franchise.

September 2024 saw the release of Shattered Space, the first expansion for Starfield. In terms of artistry, the DLC fell short of expectations, earning average scores of 59–61/100 from industry media on Metacritic (depending on the platform) and receiving shockingly poor, “mostly negative” reviews from players on Steam.