Skyrim still has millions of players every month, Fallout 4 has even more, BGS now ~400 people

Nirolak · Jul 5, 2018

Player counts on games:

VentureBeat said:
Howard: Even now, the amount of people who play Skyrim seven years later — millions of people every month are playing that game. That's why we keep releasing it. If you want us to stop releasing it, stop buying it.

Howard: It's not entirely different from the situation we're in now. The amount of people playing Fallout Shelter on mobile, we can't get them enough content. Fallout 4 is still our most-played game. It's in the top 20 on every platform it's on. We can't get enough content out and support that the way we want. The same with Skyrim.

Studio size:

We looked forward to Starfield and Elder Scrolls VI, what we had in mind for those games, and we realized it was going to take more people than the typical 100-person studio that we had for a long time.

We've started to try to do that internally. We have a big monthly meeting with everybody at Bethesda Game Studios. That meeting gets streamed to the other offices. You're looking at 400-ish people together in a meeting, and every month we have groups from the team come up and say, "Here's what we did in the game this month. Here's why it's great." We try to keep people focused in.

Source: https://venturebeat.com/2018/07/04/...e-better-when-you-dont-play-it-safe/view-all/

Savantcore · Jul 5, 2018

Fair play to them. No microstransactions or anything to keep them going, so they should release it as often as they like. Makes you a little concerned about Elder Scrolls VI, mind.

Deleted member 249 · Jul 5, 2018

I don't have any issues with the game being re-released. It's a great game, make it available to as many people as possible. It's also a one and done full priced thing, there's no microtransactions, no season pass, no DLC (anymore). You buy it once, and you get a great game.
Surprised to see Fallout 4 still has a big audience, on the other hand, but it's a fun game.

Also, i love how little fucks Howard gives about everything. "If you want us to stop re-releasing it, stop buying it."

Zedark · Jul 5, 2018

Interesting, during the interview with Ted Price he said they were over 300. Big increase towards the end of Fallout 76 and the (pre-) production of Starfield/TESVI, it seems, even after their first massive upsizing.

Loudninja · Jul 5, 2018

No problems with them releasing the game again my problem is they keep releasing it with known bugs since the freaking PS3 version.

Fanta · Jul 5, 2018

I'll never understand why people get upset over the Skyrim re-releases.
It's a good game, more people get to play it on more platforms that might not have otherwise played it when it originally released.

Deleted member 8196 · Jul 5, 2018

400 people? Uh.

2020-2021 for Starfield
2023-2024 for TES 6

I hope i won't die D:

lorddarkflare · Jul 5, 2018

Joshii said:
I'll never understand why people get upset over the Skyrim re-releases.
It's a good game, more people get to play it on more platforms that might not have otherwise played it when it originally released.

People get upset because they keep releasing it without fixing the obvious and well documented bugs.

Mesoian · Jul 5, 2018

Modded Skyrim is top 3 games of all time.

I'm sort of interested in doing a run of modded Fallout 4. Vanilla was disappointing as hell but mods made Skyrim a top 20 game into a top 3 and I wonder if the same can be done for F4

Joshii said:
I'll never understand why people get upset over the Skyrim re-releases.
It's a good game, more people get to play it on more platforms that might not have otherwise played it when it originally released.

If they're going to port the game, they should fix the game. Skyrim Switch has bugs found ithe n vanilla version from half a decade ago.

Like do SOME work please, especially when the Zelda stuff was little more than a mod that didn't work correctly for the first month of it's release.

giancarlo123x · Jul 5, 2018

I just started fallout 4 yesterday. I had it at launch but sold it very shortly after launch for some reason. Fallout shelter on ps4 really put me in the mood so I got the goty edition and I'm really enjoying it from scratch again.

Deleted member 249 · Jul 5, 2018

lorddarkflare said:
People get upset because they keep releasing it without fixing the obvious and well documented bugs.

I do wish the bugs were fixed.
But between a choice of "PS4 and Switch will have Skyrim, but with bugs" and "PS4 and Switch won't have Skyrim", I choose the former. So does, it seems, most of the world.

Nirolak · Jul 5, 2018

Zedark said:
Interesting, during the interview with Ted Price he said they were over 300. Big increase towards the end of Fallout 76 and the (pre-) production of Starfield/TESVI, it seems, even after their first massive upsizing.

It seems they still have a little under 50 open positions as well.

Deleted member 1003 · Jul 5, 2018

I apologize, I'm one of the F4 players. I've been trying to finish the terrible Nuka World DLC and banish this game from my HDD forever.

Dranakin · Jul 5, 2018

I'm still playing through Skyrim again on my Switch.

Deleted member 3897 · Jul 5, 2018

If you want us to stop releasing it, stop buying it.

Can't argue with that logic.

Risev · Jul 5, 2018

I've played nearly 70 hours of Fallout 4 within the past 2 months. I wasn't very fond of the vanilla experience, but mods, as always, fix nearly all my issues. The story and regular side quests of the base games are still disappointing, but there are like a dozen great quest mods out there that add dozens of hours of great questing that completely makes up for it. Also, Far Harbor is frigging excellent. Shows Bethesda can still nail that role-playing experience if they put their minds to it.

Fanta · Jul 5, 2018

lorddarkflare said:
People get upset because they keep releasing it without fixing the obvious and well documented bugs.

The most complaints I see is they must not be working on any other game cause they keep re-releasing Skyrim, it's no wonder Starfield and ESVI got announced so early.

Slayven · Jul 5, 2018

how long until Fallout 4 and Skyrim are on mobile devices?

AegonSnake · Jul 5, 2018

Finally. They should have expanded as soon as they shipped Skyrim and made Fallout 4 and their new IP or ES6 simultaneously. Cant believe we will go an entire gen without an ES game.

Deleted member 3925 · Jul 5, 2018

"If you want us to stop re-releasing it, stop buying it."

He's not wrong...

Zedark · Jul 5, 2018

Nirolak said:
It seems they still have a little under 50 open positions as well.

I see. Well, Todd did say that Starfield was in full production already, so they might be working on two major projects in full production at the same time (but at different stages in their development) and need a large amount of developers for that.

MaitreWakou · Jul 5, 2018

I thought they were 300, that's huge ! Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI are gonna be ambitious af ! Really can't wait to see Starfield first footages. Or even to have first infos. (Classes, alien races, gameplay loop, worlds...)

Deleted member 249 · Jul 5, 2018

Slayven said:
how long until Fallout 4 and Skyrim are on mobile devices?

Bethesda seems to like making original mobile games, rather than porting shit to them.

Nirolak · Jul 5, 2018

Zedark said:
I see. Well, Todd did say that Starfield was in full production already, so they might be working on two major projects in full production at the same time (but at different stages in their development) and need a large amount of developers for that.

And for supporting Fallout 76 post launch. This quote is rather telling:

Howard: When you were doing a console game before, you sent it off to certification and moved on. Your ability to touch it was nil. Now, you keep a team on it. Some games, online games, the whole development team stays on it.

He talks a lot about Fallout 76 post launch actually, which I'll break off into another thread in a bit.

YaBish · Jul 5, 2018

I'm really glad that they've finally upsized. With the amount of money their titles raked in, it didn't make sense for them to stay so small if they were going to continue to innovate in their games.

Zedark · Jul 5, 2018

MaitreWakou said:
I thought they were 300, that's huge ! Starfield and The Elder Scrolls VI are gonna be ambitious af ! Really can't wait to see Starfield first footages. Or even to have first infos. (Classes, alien races, gameplay loop, worlds...)

Todd did say that they required next gen tech to fulfill their vision for TESVI, so I am expecting a massive leap over Skyrim for the next game.

skeezx · Jul 5, 2018

not to shit on FO4 but every time i hear stuff like this it kind of baffles me, that many people still playing it. i know mods and all, but still

Lord Brady · Jul 5, 2018

Great games even with bugs. Can't wait for the followups.

MaitreWakou · Jul 5, 2018

Zedark said:
Todd did say that they required next gen tech to fulfill their vision for TESVI, so I am expecting a massive leap over Skyrim for the next game.

True. Also, Skyrim is 2011. TESVI is probably 2022~24. When we will compare both it will be mind fuck lol.

Omega.X · Jul 5, 2018

Kind of crazy that F4 has surpassed Skyrim in popularity. Fallout 4 was their most disappointing game in a long, long time. It really feels like they stretched the engine to the absolute limit, dumbed-down more core systems, and focused too heavily on the base building aspects.

I'm not really expecting greatness out of 76 either. It's not really a "core" Bethesda game since it's largely outsourced to Austin anyways.

Ocean Bones · Jul 5, 2018

Stygr said:
400 people? Uh.

2020-2021 for Starfield
2023-2024 for TES 6

I hope i won't die D:

12-13 years Between ES games. We Final Fantasy now.

Why didn't they do more expansions for these games. Neither one of them had the great DLC support they could have had.

Zedark · Jul 5, 2018

MaitreWakou said:
True. Also, Skyrim is 2011. TESVI is probably 2022~24. When we will compare both it will be mind fuck lol.

Yup, it's not going to be a TESIV to TESV kind of difference, and probably even much bigger than Morrowing to Oblivion was. I'm lowkey excited already! (lowkey because it's at least half a decade out still.)

Nirolak · Jul 5, 2018

Ocean Bones said:
12-13 years Between ES games. We Final Fantasy now.

Why didn't they do more expansions for these games. Neither one of them had the great DLC support they could have had.

Skyrim was shipped with 104 people and Fallout 4 was shipped with 108 people. To be clear, that was the entire studio size. They actually just needed literally everyone they had to ship their next games.

They realized this was a problem though, which is why they're now 400 people and quickly growing.

Captjohnboyd · Jul 5, 2018

giancarlo123x said:
I just started fallout 4 yesterday. I had it at launch but sold it very shortly after launch for some reason. Fallout shelter on ps4 really put me in the mood so I got the goty edition and I'm really enjoying it from scratch again.

I've actually been thinking of picking it up again. Got about 2/3 of the way through on the PS4 but ended up losing the PS4. Got a pro recently and am curious about the mods/DLC. I know the mod situation on Sony is kinda garbage but would you say it's made it a little more interesting or fun? I enjoyed even base FO4 in spite of its flaws but am curious if the mods open up building/gun/upgrades enough to sell me even more

Invisible Cities · Jul 5, 2018

I was just thinking of booting Fallout 4 back up and trying out the Far Harbor DLC. I ran out of steam after Nuka-World.

Deleted member 25108 · Jul 5, 2018

Sotha_Sil · Jul 5, 2018

They need to keep growing. They're got Fallout 76, Starfield, and TES Blades in full production. TES6 in pre-production. Likely doing some basic oversight (at the minimum) on all the ports. Who knows what else. I'm not surprised getting mods to Switch is low priority, they simply don't have the manpower.

Hopefully some of these new hires will be dedicated to engine improvements, or maybe even developing a new engine (less likely).

Se_7_eN · Jul 5, 2018

I should really try and finish Skyrim, and Fallout 4.

Son of a bitch I am behind :( My backlog hurts my feelings.

Koukalaka · Jul 5, 2018

I'm amazed they kept BGS relatively small (in AAA terms) for do long - I wonder if there's any risk to them expanding so fast.

alexbull_uk · Jul 5, 2018

I'm still playing (and loving) both.

The entry price on Beth's games vs. the amount of time you can play them for must be one of the best in the business.

Keasar · Jul 5, 2018

400 people and not one of them will write a bloody decent story if Bethesda's streak so far is to go by.

Joeyro · Jul 5, 2018

Nirolak said:
Skyrim was shipped with 104 people and Fallout 4 was shipped with 108 people. To be clear, that was the entire studio size. They actually just needed literally everyone they had to ship their next games.

They realized this was a problem though, which is why they're now 400 people and quickly growing.

That's insane, Fallout 3, Skyrim and Fallout 4 are seven years apart. That's very efficient for such a small team.

texhnolyze · Jul 5, 2018

Good news that they're finally expanding. Hell, fantastic news.

skeezx · Jul 5, 2018

Omega.X said:
Kind of crazy that F4 has surpassed Skyrim in popularity. Fallout 4 was their most disappointing game in a long, long time. It really feels like they stretched the engine to the absolute limit, dumbed-down more core systems, and focused too heavily on the base building aspects.

I'm not really expecting greatness out of 76 either. It's not really a "core" Bethesda game since it's largely outsourced to Austin anyways.

completely out of my ass speculation but i think more people on PC/steam by the time FO4 rolled around kind of "inflated" the numbers in relation to skyrim

Tigress · Jul 5, 2018

Risev said:
I've played nearly 70 hours of Fallout 4 within the past 2 months. I wasn't very fond of the vanilla experience, but mods, as always, fix nearly all my issues. The story and regular side quests of the base games are still disappointing, but there are like a dozen great quest mods out there that add dozens of hours of great questing that completely makes up for it. Also, Far Harbor is frigging excellent. Shows Bethesda can still nail that role-playing experience if they put their minds to it.

Yeah, Far Harbor pisses me off in a way cause it shows that Bethesda could do a decent RPG if they wanted to and they don't. It's like, the potential is there and it's not used and it's frustrating. THat being said it's my second favorite Fallout DLC (behind Old World Blues).

Can't wait to get into it in VR (the atmosphere is going to be great in VR).

Sotha_Sil · Jul 5, 2018

Koukalaka said:
I'm amazed they kept BGS relatively small (in AAA terms) for do long - I wonder if there's any risk to them expanding so fast.

Logistically, it's a massive risk. More so since they're in 3 locations in two countries now. Plus all the outsourced work (Switch ports, not sure if they do anything with Legends). I'm sure there's been a lot of learning on the go in regards to management structure.

DOBERMAN INC · Jul 5, 2018

I don't think I'll stop playing modded Skyrim until the next Elder Scrolls has released, I don't play it as much these days but it's still semi frequently which says a lot about the quality when it can pull you in for years on end.

JoeNut · Jul 5, 2018

You can see why so many companies do microtransactions. Past the actual purchase these millions of players aren't making them money (i suppose you could count any DLC though)

2Blackcats · Jul 5, 2018

Makes even more sense they're going Sci-fi next.

Those games will keep selling until the next game in their franchises launch.

Risev · Jul 5, 2018

DOBERMAN INC said:
I don't think I'll stop playing modded Skyrim until the next Elder Scrolls has released, I don't play it as much these days but it's still semi frequently which says a lot about the quality when it can pull you in for years on end.

Helps that huge mods for Skyrim still drop on a near-yearly basis. Beyond Skyrim: Bruma released a short while ago and we keep getting DLC-sized mods every few months. Definitely a reason to keep the game installed for years to come.

Skyrim still has millions of players every month, Fallout 4 has even more, BGS now ~400 people

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