The Bethesda that players knew no longer exists. This is according to former director Pete Hines, recalling the past with bitterness. He worked at the company for over twenty years and says that now it is a completely different place.
Hines joined Bethesda in October 1999 and left in 2023. During this time, he witnessed the birth of games such as Morrowind and Skyrim. But in an interview, he admitted that after the acquisition by Microsoft and the death of ZeniMax founder Robert Altman in 2021, the old magic disappeared.
He recalled the times when Altman led the studio. The atmosphere was special - "everyone felt like his employees, no questions asked." According to Hines, Altman "treated us more like family," creating a working culture that he called "magical."
The secret was in the status of a private company. "It's easier to stay away from the pressure of the world when you don't have to publish financial reports for others," Hines explains. This gave developers freedom.
Now everything has changed. "There is no doubt that the company has become different. It has been radically transformed," Hines summarizes. He adds that changes are natural, but the "special world" that he was a part of will not return.
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