The Elder Scrolls 6 is shaping up to be one of the biggest RPG launches in the gaming industry, but it may already be missing the key ingredient that made Skyrim a timeless masterpiece. During an interview with KIWI TALKZ on YouTube, former game designer at Bethesda, Kurt Kuhlmann, revealed that the real magic behind Skyrim was a small team of 100 to 120 people.
Working with such a small team allowed them to collaborate properly and maintain a unified vision. While almost 500 people are currently crafting the world of The Elder Scrolls 6, this might not actually be an upgrade but a team with a diluted vision and less coordination.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Might Have Too Many Cooks to Spoil
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was built in an environment where communication was direct, and making any change was flexible. There was no difference in the vision of any department, as they worked hand in hand to ensure a perfect experience for the players. This type of coordination is something that Bethesda might miss out on while creating The Elder Scrolls 6.
Certainly, it is very difficult to manage a team of hundreds of employees. This becomes a matter of keeping them motivated through several brainstorming sessions and conducting various meetings to refresh their goals moving forward.
When so many people come together to work on a single project, it becomes difficult to preserve innovation. Even the former Bethesda dev, Kuhlmann, also emphasized that when a team grows, decision-making is slowed down and design intent gets lost in endless internal approvals.
Long story short, a large team might help a game like The Elder Scrolls 6 look bigger on paper, but the soul will forever be missing. Perhaps, we can all agree that this is something that Skyrim excelled in with its immersive experience.
Starfield Proved a Bigger Team Isn’t Always Better for Bethesda
The last when Bethesda worked with a bigger team, they spoiled a very ambitious project. We are talking about Starfield. The game that had so much potential was ruined by repetitive exploration and a disjointed world. Instead of feeling like a collective living universe, Starfield felt more like a stitching of multiple isolated features in one package.
If we look closely, Bethesda had a large-scale team to make their dreams come true. However, the significant loss with the underwhelming performance of Starfield made it clear that even a large team can’t help if the creative energy is missing.
Do you think The Elder Scrolls 6 will top Skyrim in terms of creativity? Let us know in the comments below.
