The Elder Scrolls VI is awaited not only by fans of the franchise. For some developers, this wait is much longer.
Recently, co-author of TES V: Skyrim, Kurt Kuhlmann, spoke with PC Gamer. A few years ago, he left Bethesda after more than 20 years of work and has now explained the reason for his departure.
According to him, Todd Howard made him a promise regarding TES VI, which he never fulfilled (it was assumed that Kurt would lead the development):
After Fallout 4, we didn't immediately start working on TES VI — we made Fallout 76, and even after that we didn't make TES VI, but released Starfield, which turned out to be an extremely long project compared to others. So from my point of view, I've been waiting for the opportunity to lead the development of TES VI for 11 years.
Kuhlmann doesn't like how Bethesda has changed as it has grown:
When a company reaches this scale, you can't just barge into Todd Howard's office to chat about some moment in development. He doesn't have lunch with everyone… It's all very different when there are 400 people around, four studios, a big business, and now Microsoft is involved as well.
Over time, many leading developers, including Todd Howard, began to manage the process less, engaging in "bureaucracy."
I didn't want to work that way because I love creating games and being personally involved in the process. It got to the point where I didn't enjoy working in that atmosphere anymore.