Former Bethesda developer and Skyrim veteran Nate Purkeypile says Bethesda shouldn’t be trying to outdo Starfield with its next release. In his view, The Elder Scrolls 6 needs tighter focus and clearer limits rather than a bigger scale. Todd Howard has previously described the project as his ultimate fantasy simulator.
Starfield launched in 2023 as the largest game Bethesda had ever built. While the release was generally received positively, many players felt its open world was less engaging than what Bethesda achieved in titles like Skyrim and Fallout 3. According to longtime developer Nate Purkeypile, the game’s sheer size may have been part of the problem rather than its greatest strength. Modern AAA open-world games constantly chase the idea that each new entry must be wider, larger, and more ambitious, but the former Skyrim veteran argues that this mindset isn’t necessary for a great RPG.
Starfield Didn’t Make Its Open World Feel Worth the Scale
In an interview with Esports Insider, Purkeypile – who previously worked as a world artist on Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Skyrim – explained what he hopes to see from The Elder Scrolls 6. He believes the next RPG would benefit from being centered on a single region of Tamriel. Purkeypile also stressed that the new game shouldn’t be designed around trying to surpass Starfield purely in size. He pointed out that Bethesda RPGs have never really suffered from feeling too short or too limited. In fact, games like Skyrim are still widely played today, which suggests that raw content volume has never been the studio’s real issue. “I think there is something to be said for going a bit more constrained. Do you really need it to be bigger?” Purkeypile asks.
There’s Enormous Hype Around The Elder Scrolls 6
Ultimately, the former Bethesda artist argues in favor of a version of The Elder Scrolls 6 that is denser and more tightly packed, rather than one that only feels bigger than Starfield in a superficial way. Where Bethesda will land on that spectrum remains unclear for now, but Todd Howard has described the project as his most ambitious before, so it will be interesting to see what direction the studio ultimately chooses.
Source: tech4gamers
