Fallout got Fallout: New Vegas, a spinoff built by an outside studio that fans still talk about today. The Elder Scrolls never got anything like it – and now there’s an explanation straight from someone who spent two decades inside Bethesda. Kurt Kuhlmann, a former Bethesda developer and long-time Elder Scrolls loremaster, says the decision came down mainly to executive producer Todd Howard.
Who is Kurt Kuhlmann
Kuhlmann joined Bethesda Softworks in 1996 and his first project was The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall. Shortly after its launch he became a key writer on The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard and authored the Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition – the booklet that shipped with physical copies of the game and laid down a large chunk of the foundational Elder Scrolls lore still in use today.
He left the company in 1998, then returned in 2003 to write for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Kuhlmann stayed at Bethesda all the way until 2023: he co-led development on Skyrim and also worked on Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Starfield. In other words, when he talks about how The Elder Scrolls was handled internally, he’s talking about rooms he was actually in.
The New Vegas problem
Three years after leaving Bethesda, Kuhlmann sat down for a two-hour interview with the FRVR podcast, where he was asked why Bethesda never pushed for an Elder Scrolls spinoff in the same vein as New Vegas. His read is that New Vegas effectively split the Fallout fan base – a chunk of players came away convinced that Obsidian Entertainment should be running the series. As Kuhlmann puts it, he doesn’t “know that Todd [Howard] wanted to create that situation again for The Elder Scrolls.”
He also says outright that Howard “is very protective” of the Elder Scrolls IP, at least based on what he saw during his long run at the studio – another hint that Howard simply didn’t want an Elder Scrolls game made by a different team. On top of that, Kuhlmann theorizes Bethesda felt no urgency to ship a new single-player Elder Scrolls entry, because the studio believed The Elder Scrolls Online was already delivering plenty of content through its steady stream of expansions and updates. If you’re keeping tabs on the series in the meantime, we collect everything in one place in our Skyrim news section.
Obsidian is under Bethesda now – and it changes nothing
There’s an ironic twist here. Following the most recent round of Xbox layoffs, Obsidian Entertainment was moved under Bethesda’s remit. That still doesn’t make an Elder Scrolls spinoff likely: Obsidian is confirmed to be working on a brand-new Fallout game, and Bethesda itself remains deep in development on The Elder Scrolls 6.
For players, the practical takeaway is simple. Nobody is quietly cooking up a smaller, differently flavored Elder Scrolls RPG on the side – the series’ future runs through The Elder Scrolls 6 and through The Elder Scrolls Online. The gap between mainline releases keeps getting filled by the modding scene instead, which is where projects like the free expansion-sized mod King of the Murkmire come in.
Kuhlmann on a Starfield sequel
The same interview touched on 2023’s Starfield. Kuhlmann claims the original wasn’t “anywhere near successful enough to do a Starfield 2,” and that he’d be “very surprised” if a sequel ever got made.
He previously explained his 2023 departure in an interview with PC Gamer earlier this year: as Bethesda grew into a much larger company, his leadership role became more managerial and less hands-on, and that growth eventually brought communication problems and decisions he didn’t agree with.
FAQ
According to former Bethesda developer Kurt Kuhlmann, the call rested mainly with executive producer Todd Howard, who is “very protective” of the Elder Scrolls IP. Kuhlmann also believes New Vegas split the Fallout fan base, and doubts Howard wanted to repeat that situation with The Elder Scrolls.
A Bethesda veteran and long-time Elder Scrolls loremaster. He joined in 1996, started on Daggerfall, wrote for Redguard and authored the Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition. After returning in 2003 he worked on Oblivion, co-led Skyrim and contributed to Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and Starfield before leaving in 2023.
It doesn’t look likely. Obsidian moved under Bethesda’s remit after the latest Xbox layoffs, but the studio is confirmed to be working on a brand-new Fallout game, while Bethesda continues development on The Elder Scrolls 6.
Kuhlmann says the first game wasn’t “anywhere near successful enough” to justify a Starfield 2 and that he’d be “very surprised” if a sequel were ever made. There’s no official announcement either way.
He explained that as Bethesda grew, his leadership role shifted toward management and away from hands-on work, and that growth led to communication issues and decisions he disagreed with.