A former Bethesda employee has opened up about the reasons behind Starfield's underwhelming performance and his subsequent departure from the studio. Three years after its launch, Starfield has failed to become a beloved franchise for Bethesda, instead serving as a minor setback on the path to The Elder Scrolls 6.
Post-launch updates, including its sole DLC expansion, have done little to improve its reputation. Its exclusivity to Xbox did not boost console sales significantly, and Microsoft has yet to port it to PlayStation 5, despite ongoing rumours.
Kurt Kuhlmann's Candid Assessment
Kurt Kuhlmann, a senior designer who worked on Starfield as lead systems designer, recently shared his insights with PC Gamer. He described Starfield as a 'good game' and 'releasable,' but admitted it 'wasn't the best.' Kuhlmann pointed to several factors that contributed to the game's shortcomings.
Management and Communication Issues
One major issue was the project's leadership structure. While Todd Howard is credited as director, Kuhlmann noted that 'the leads now included studio heads and producers and were from multiple studios.' This led to communication problems, with different teams receiving conflicting answers from various leads.
Kuhlmann attributed these challenges to the expanding scope of Bethesda's projects and the growth of parent company ZeniMax Media. Additionally, Bethesda's acquisition by Microsoft likely played a role, especially as Microsoft pushed for Starfield to be a key Xbox exclusive.
The Challenges of a New IP
As a new intellectual property, Starfield lacked an established foundation. Kuhlmann estimated that about 50% of the game was entirely new territory for Bethesda, requiring the studio to 'add a bunch of people' to handle the unfamiliar concepts. This influx of staff exacerbated management difficulties.
'How do you manage that size of a team and keep everybody on the same page ... we don't have an institutional knowledge about how space works, how do spaceships work, how do we integrate that into quests?' Kuhlmann explained.
Reasons for Leaving Bethesda
These internal changes influenced Kuhlmann's decision to leave Bethesda in September 2023, the same month Starfield launched. However, another significant factor was his disappointment over not being appointed lead designer for The Elder Scrolls 6, a role he had been promised years earlier.
'I was obviously one of the old-timers there and had a lot of experience. Bruce [Nesmith] and I had been the co-leads on The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. I think most people would call it a successful project, so I thought that it wasn't unreasonable for me to think that I could be a successful lead on The Elder Scrolls 6,' Kuhlmann stated.
He added, 'It wasn't just my expectation – I had been told that that was going to happen. And they made the decision, no, you're not going to be the lead.' Despite his initial frustration, Kuhlmann acknowledged that he might not have enjoyed the role and that Bethesda may have made the right decision.
Future Endeavours
Since departing Bethesda, Kuhlmann has joined Lightspeed L.A. as principal world designer. The studio is currently developing Last Sentinel, an open-world sci-fi game, marking a new chapter in his career.
Starfield's journey highlights the complexities of game development, particularly for large studios navigating new IPs and corporate expansions. Kuhlmann's reflections offer a rare glimpse into the challenges that can impact even the most anticipated titles.
