Remaking The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind comes with two theoretical problems, according to a former Bethesda Game Studios lead. One is that the company might not even have the original source code anymore. Two is that Bruce Nesmith, Skyrim's lead designer, thinks people would probably "cringe" playing the 20-year-old RPG.
"The problem with doing Morrowind is that I bet they don't have the original code," Nesmith guessed in an interview with Press Box. "The game is so old. I don't know if the original source code exists anymore. If it does, can you even compile it?"
"The other thing I would say is go back and play Morrowind and tell me that’s the game you want to play again," he then said, perhaps controversially. "We all have these fond memories of things that were pivotal moments in our gaming fantasy histories... but you go back and play a 20 year old game and you will cringe."
Nesmith, who was a longtime designer at the studio for decades, even said those "cringe moments" reared their heads in last year's The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered, but they were easy to ignore when being served alongside a dollop of nostalgia. "I worked on Oblivion. I'm even responsible for some of those cringe moments," he continued. "The further back you go, the more that's going to be an issue. The reality of playing Morrowind would not stand the test of time, in my opinion."
He then explained that a full remake of Morrowind might sidestep the issue, but at that point, "why not go and make something new?" Nesmith isn't opposed to seeing a "new story" set in the weird, alien lands of Morrowind, though. "You can include the giant crab palace and all of that stuff but make it new and avoid all the things that would not have survived the test of time."
