The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered turned out to be a successful project for Bethesda, despite the lack of marketing and official announcements. Director Tom Mustaine said in an interview that the company is likely to repeat this approach in the future.
Everyone has a very short attention span these days. A surprise release is an interesting strategy. I don’t know when we’ll do it again, but I hope it works out. It’s cool to capture the attention of the entire internet for one day and give people what they want right after the announcement.
This strategy has already worked with Hi-Fi Rush. It is also supported by studio head Todd Howard:
Todd Howard has long dreamed of surprise releases. This is a great opportunity to say: “Here it is — play it right now.” This is really important to us.
Bethesda admits that announcements of new games, like with The Elder Scrolls VI, often annoy players with the long wait. The next surprise release may not only be TES or Fallout, but also a new MachineGames project.
