The creator of Oblivion doubts that Morrowind would be able to interest modern players.
After the release of the TES IV: Oblivion remaster, some fans once again started talking about the possible return of another classic entry in the series — The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. However, former Bethesda employee Bruce Nesmith believes such a project has too many problems.
Nesmith worked as a designer on Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Oblivion, was the lead designer of Skyrim, and also wrote quests for Fallout 3. In an interview with PressBoxUK, he said that, in his opinion, a Morrowind remaster "would not stand the test of time".
Among the possible obstacles, Nesmith also named a purely technical factor: Bethesda may simply no longer have the game's source code. According to him, the updated version of Oblivion came together noticeably more easily for the studio precisely because all the necessary materials were available.
But even if Morrowind's source code still exists, Nesmith doubts that the game is capable of interesting a modern audience without radical changes.
"We all have warm memories of games that became turning points in our gaming history and still evoke sincere delight. But once you return to a game from twenty years ago, awkwardness becomes inevitable. Even the Oblivion remake gave people moments like that, but they forgave it because they were reliving familiar events and enjoying the nostalgia. I worked on Oblivion and am even responsible for some of those awkward moments. But the further back into the past we go, the sharper this problem becomes. In my opinion, Morrowind would not stand the test of time in actual gameplay experience."
Bethesda has not yet announced any official plans to bring back Morrowind. Right now, the studio is focused on developing the next numbered entry in the series — The Elder Scrolls VI.
