A former Bethesda developer says The Elder Scrolls VI has a brutal climb ahead if it wants to beat the Skyrim phenomenon. Nate Purkeypile believes that even if Bethesda’s new fantasy RPG ends up being just as good as Skyrim, the team will still be met with insults and nonstop complaints.

To many players, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim isn’t simply a video game – it’s a phenomenon. Bethesda’s RPG has cemented itself as one of the most legendary titles ever made, and its popularity is so overwhelming that even today, a little over 14 years after its original release, it still pulls thousands of players back into Tamriel. That’s why it’s hardly surprising that the already-announced The Elder Scrolls VI is surrounded by enormous hype. The problem, according to a former Bethesda developer, is that this new entry faces an incredibly hard task: trying to outshine the beloved experience players were given back in 2011.

Nate Purkeypile is far from an unknown name for Bethesda fans. The veteran developer, who now leads Just Purkey Games (the creators of titles like The Axis Unseen), has previously shared interesting details about his time working on Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Starfield. This time, speaking to Esports Insider, he went over the hurdles Bethesda is facing with The Elder Scrolls VI, and he expects trouble even if the game performs well.

On that note, Purkeypile explains that one reason he decided to leave Bethesda was precisely because the team was stepping into a very difficult situation with The Elder Scrolls VI. “That absolutely influenced my departure, because Skyrim is in the Top 10 best games of all time – how do you top that?” the developer says. “If they manage it, great! And I hope it’s a great game.” “But even if it’s as good as Skyrim, there will still be loads of people making hateful comments.”

“I’m sure we’ll see more death threats.” “All that stuff.” “It’s a real shame things turned out this way.” Of course, Purkeypile is only offering a personal prediction, and it may never come to pass. Still, his outlook won’t shock anyone: Skyrim has grown into one of the most adored pieces of entertainment ever, and the internet will be flooded with reactions the moment The Elder Scrolls VI finally hits the market. And it’s easy to picture a scenario, just as Purkeypile describes it, where the launch won’t come without intense responses, for better or for worse.

The Elder Scrolls VI Still Has a Lot of Work Ahead

Purkeypile’s remarks to Esports Insider echo what he said almost a year earlier in another interview, where he also warned that Bethesda could receive death threats over The Elder Scrolls VI, even if the game turns out good. He pointed out that the Bethesda that built Skyrim is not the same Bethesda we’re looking at in 2026. The industry has shifted, trends are no longer what they used to be, developers have taken different career paths, and the studio – like the rest of the business – has had to reshape itself in order to keep up with this new environment.

Even so, the story is still far from finished. Bethesda has admitted more than once that The Elder Scrolls VI still needs plenty of work and that fans shouldn’t expect the release anytime soon. So for now, patience is required – and a return trip to Skyrim might be the best way to pass the time while waiting for Bethesda’s next big fantasy RPG.

Source: 3djuegos