Bethesda began the past decade with Skyrim breaking records back in 2011. However, since then the studio has struggled to live up to The Elder Scrolls 5’s legacy, or surpass it with its subsequent RPGs. Fallout 4, while financially successful, was considered by many to be a better shooter than it was an RPG. Fallout 76, the first multiplayer addition to the series, was received poorly by many fans, and damaged hopes that Bethesda would ever be able to live up to Skyrim again.
The studio is tackling a new IP for the first time in decades, Starfield, making predicting its success over the coming decade even harder. However, while the 2020s may present Bethesda with an unclear future, the studio has one big ace up its sleeve.
RPG Remakes and Remasters
The Elder Scrolls is one of the most popular RPG franchises of all time, as well as one of the longest-running. Skyrim released back in 2011, Oblivion in 2006, and Morrowind in 2003, with others before that. Even the last game in the series, Skyrim, is approaching its ten-year anniversary. While this has left many fans impatient for news about The Elder Scrolls 6, it presents Bethesda with a huge opportunity could take on over the next decade.
Over the past few years, remasters and remakes have become increasingly common ways for big game developers to ensure some more reliable income while the studios work on future projects. Just earlier this month, BioWare announced the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, a remaster of the original Mass Effect trilogy which is set for release in 2021.
Bethesda's Past and Future
If Bethesda were to remake Oblivion or, perhaps more likely, Morrowind, the RPG giant could bank on the success of its past without having to worry about the direction of the franchise’s future on the next-gen consoles. Remaking or remastering a game like Morrowind would be no easy task, but it’s far from impossible. Skyrim modders from the Skywind and Skyblivion projects have long been working on rebuilding both games in Skyrim’s engine. Not only is Bethesda a far larger operation, but with its recent acquisition by Microsoft could have access to good funding for additional projects like this.
Neither Skywind nor Skyblivion have playable builds yet which have been released to the public, and though the Skywind devs released a video earlier this year hinting that the project was moving along and asking for additional support, neither attempts at fan-made remasters have a set release date as Skyrim approaches its 10-year anniversary. If nothing else, remakes appear to be a trend on the rise in video gaming, with major franchises of the early 2000s and 2010s like Halo and Mass Effect receiving remakes and remasters. The success of the Halo remasters in particular has made the practice more popular among large game developers looking to cash in on nostalgia.
This could be Bethesda’s path forward through the 2020s, remastering older games like Morrowind with new teams as the studio grows while a core team keeps working on future installments like The Elder Scrolls 6. It is possible that the immense modding community that The Elder Scrolls games have and encourage could render this unnecessary, though any modded remasters wouldn’t make Bethesda a dime outside of the base game’s purchase. With more and more developers turning to remasters, more studios like Bethesda, with uncertainties about their major franchises' futures, may turn to their pasts.