‘Fallout,’ ‘Elder Scrolls’ Developer Working On 3 Projects ‘Different Than Things We’ve Done Before’
Bethesda Game Studios is best known for its Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises, but the developer may have something new up its sleeve for future releases. Game Director Todd Howard spoke at the 2016 DICE Summit Thursday and dropped a huge tease when asked what the studio is working on next.
“We have three longer-term projects we’re doing that are all…we’ll talk about them at a much future date,” he said. “But they’re different than anything we’ve done before while also being a Bethesda-style game; big and crazy. But in many ways different than things we’ve done before.”
Howard had no announcement of what types of games are currently being worked on, nor did he specify what game universes they take place in. The Elder Scrolls VI is currently thought of as a leading contender simply because it continues the natural progression of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout alternating releases. Surely, Fallout 4‘s launch in November means a return to Tamriel is next, right?
Bethesda did release Fallout Shelter last year and also opened a new studio in Montreal, Quebec, late last year with an aim to “expand its development capabilities in console, PC, and mobile gaming,” as GameSpot reported. It’s unknown what the 40-plus developers at the studio will be working on as Howard would only say it is working on mobile projects and “other things.”
The Bethesda Director’s statement that these games are “big and crazy” in the studio’s typical style appears to eliminate additional mobile titles like Fallout Shelter. Or, it could just be a case of semantics as the mobile title’s success has certainly opened the door to more of its ilk.
.@BethesdaStudios’ Todd Howard is looking back on @Fallout 4. Live at https://t.co/gkWCdVfr5W #dice2016 pic.twitter.com/dB0mfO9EIZ
— Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (@Official_AIAS) February 18, 2016
Howard also spoke about Fallout 4 during his talk on stage at DICE. He admitted that the simplification of some of the game’s mechanics and role-playing features was intentional. This was done to keep the game from being too hard.
He also said he’s looking forward to changes in the game’s Survival mode that will be released in a future update. He said the updates to make food, sleep, diseases, and other dangers more prevalent has resulted in “some of the most fun I’ve had in the game.”
As previously covered, Bethesda will release free updates to Fallout 4 over the coming months to overhaul Survival Mode plus add optimizations to gameplay and quests. There is still the much anticipated Creation Kit and official mod support for the PC version as well as consoles.
Bethesda also expanded its DLC plans for the popular role-playing title. The first add-on, Automatron, will be released in March and thrusts players into a new quest to stop a horde of evil robots. They will also have the opportunity to play robot maker by mixing together parts into their own creation.
Finally, the third DLC promises the largest new landmass ever added to a Bethesda game. Players will journey to the coast of Maine in Far Harbor to navigate the conflict between the synths, the Children of the Atom, and the local townspeople.
More Fallout 4 DLC is planned for the future and the Season Pass is getting a price bump to $49.99 as a result. Those interested can still purchase it for $29.99 through the end of February and get all the same content.
[Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for Bethesda]
