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A Bethesda Game Studios veteran reckons the company's "Big Three" tentpole games now includes Starfield, which is "simply developing its own unique fanbase."
Speaking to GamesRadar+ ahead of Starfield's Shattered Space expansion, design director Emil Pagliarulo said the studio's sci-fi mammoth "has its own unique personality and now sits right next to Fallout and Elder Scrolls." Starfield's changes to the Bethesda formula definitely inspired lots of heated debate, let's say, but Pagliarulo thinks it still fits right in with what the studio is famed for.
"It exists in a unique space," he explained. "It might not be everyone's cup of tea. What is? We created a new IP, from the ground up, and an experience that is absolutely unique on consoles. And I'm not saying Starfield is better or worse than any other game – just different in what we offer: that weird Bethesda blend of immersion, action, and RPG."
Pagliarulo still acknowledges that Starfield is "also different than Bethesda's other RPGs" - Skyrim's open-world exploration is now scattered across 100s of procedurally generated planets, for example - but, it turns out, that's also what's helped it draw in a different crowd. "Starfield is simply developing its own unique fanbase. It's big and it's growing."
Taking years to hammer away at a totally new series for the first time in decades, all while the cloud of hype surrounding The Elder Scroll 6 hangs above the studio, was a risk as well. But hey, now that it's seemingly paid off, the studio can balance on three stable legs.
"Bethesda used to feel like the studio of Elder Scrolls," Pagliarulo explained. "Then it was the studio you'd associate with Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Now it's Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield. Bethesda Game Studio's Big Three." Director Todd Howard had previously hinted at big plans for Starfield's future, with annual story expansions potentially coming for a "very long time," and Pagliarulo now added that "it's just the beginning."
The Bethesda veteran also said that Starfield might just be the “best game we’ve ever made.”
