Former Elder Scrolls Loremaster Says He Quit Bethesda After Being Passed Over for The Elder Scrolls 6 Lead Role

So, a longtime Bethesda veteran says he left the studio because he didn't get a leadership role on The Elder Scrolls 6, even though he was supposedly promised that spot years ago.

Kurt Kuhlmann, who used to be Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls loremaster and was a big creative force behind Skyrim, mentioned he quit in 2023 after finding out he wouldn't be the lead designer for the next Elder Scrolls game. He talked about it in a recent interview, explaining it was a decision after waiting over a decade.

Kuhlmann claims that Todd Howard, the director at Bethesda Game Studios, had verbally said he'd lead The Elder Scrolls 6 once they were done with Fallout 4, which came out in 2015. But instead, Bethesda focused on Fallout 76 and then Starfield, which took way longer than expected.

“From my point of view, I’d been waiting something like 11 years to be the lead on TES6,” Kuhlmann said, explaining how the studio’s constant changes kept pushing the project further down the line.

Kuhlmann was frustrated because of his history at Bethesda. He was one of their most experienced designers and co-led Skyrim, a game that’s considered a huge success. He felt it was reasonable to think he could lead The Elder Scrolls 6, especially after being told the role would be his.

That expectation fell apart during what Kuhlmann called a “tough” conversation with the studio leadership. While Bethesda did offer him a significant role on The Elder Scrolls 6, it wasn’t the one he wanted. “What I wanted and what he wanted were different at that point,” Kuhlmann said, referring to Todd Howard.

Bethesda didn’t comment on his claims, and Kuhlmann admitted the studio might argue that circumstances changed over time. He noted that leading a modern Elder Scrolls game is a whole different ballgame compared to when Skyrim was developed.

In the end, Kuhlmann decided to leave Bethesda, citing the missed chance to lead The Elder Scrolls 6 and his growing dissatisfaction with the studio's changes as it expanded and took on bigger projects.

Kuhlmann also shared what he imagined for The Elder Scrolls 6 if he had creative control. He envisioned a darker story inspired by The Empire Strikes Back, with the Thalmor winning and setting the stage for The Elder Scrolls 7. However, he admitted such a grim ending would probably have been a tough sell, especially with today’s AAA development timelines.

The Elder Scrolls 6 was officially announced at E3 2018 and is still in pre-production, with not much shown publicly since the first teaser. Todd Howard recently gave a rare update, saying development is “progressing really well,” though there's no release date announced yet.