Summary
Starfield 2is likely to happen further down the road, according to former Bethesda developer Bruce Nesmith. What’s more, the industry veteran has high hopes for theStarfieldsequel.
Nesmith is a game designer who had two stints at Bethesda spanning more than 20 years combined. He worked on all the mainlineThe Elder ScrollsgamessinceDaggerfall, as well asFallout 3,Fallout 4, andFallout 76, among other projects. While he left Bethesda in 2021 to become a fantasy novel author, he still contributed toStarfieldas a system designer.
Nesmith reflected on Bethesda’s latest game in a recentinterviewwith VideoGamer, stating thatStarfieldis bound to serve as an excellent template for a future RPG. Elaborating on this train of thought, the former developer explained that first entries in any series tend to be rough around the edges while still showing “flashes of brilliance,” thus serving as an important building block for any given franchise to really start hitting its stride later on. That’s what he believes will be the case withStarfield. “I’m looking forward toStarfield 2,” Nesmith said, adding that he expects it to be “one hell of a game.”
Starfield Took Longer To Develop Because It Was Made From Scratch
Further illustrating the subject of iterative development, the industry veteran noted how havingMorrowindwas a “tremendous advantage” while developingOblivion, which, in turn, also benefitedSkyrim. Had Bethesda instead been forced to start from scratch each and every time it was building another 3D fantasy RPG,OblivionandSkyrimwould have conceivably taken “two or three years” longer, Nesmith explained. Coincidentally,Starfieldspent over seven years in development, significantly longer than Bethesda’s other titles.
I’m looking forward to Starfield 2. I think it’s going to be one hell of a game.
And whileNesmith acknowledged that fans had some complaints aboutStarfield, he anticipates that the game’s eventual sequel will address a lot of these grievances. “It takes, sadly, sometimes a second or third version of the game in order to really enrich everything,” he opined.
Starfield 2 Likely Isn’t Happening Anytime Soon
Although Nesmith thus appears to be fairly convinced thatStarfieldwill get a sequel, the chances of that happening anytime soon are basically non-existent, at least if the idea is for that game to be handled internally. Namely,The Elder Scrolls 6is currently in early development, and Bethesda is also presently working on post-launchStarfieldcontent, in addition to continuing to supportFallout 76. OnceTES 6is done circa 2029, the developer intends to start working onFallout 5, as previously confirmed by Bethesda Executive Producer Todd Howard. Assuming AAA development cycles don’t get any longer in the meantime,Fallout 5may hit the market circa 2034. Therefore, even if Bethesda were to tackleStarfield 2immediately afterward, that game would be unlikely to arrive until the late 2030s at the earliest.
Starfield
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
