Todd Howard’s name is a hard one to avoid in the video game industry. As director and executive producer atBethesdaGame Studios, he has had a significant impact on the world of video games. Iconic franchises such asThe Elder ScrollsandFalloutwould not have existed without his work. On November 11, Todd made an appearance on Reddit where he hosted an AMA (Ask Me Anything) thread in the /r/IAmA subreddit.
With Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax Media costing an astronomical $7.5 billion, gamers naturally had plenty of questions to ask Todd about the future of ZeniMax-ownedBethesdaand their favorite franchises. While AMAs have the potential to be colossal disasters, Todd’s thread went rather well; in between a few jokey answers, a lot of new and interesting information was revealed. He discussed upcoming games such asStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls VI, and he also spoke a bit about Bethesda’s current state and what the studio has been up to.
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Todd Howard Reddit AMA - Starfield
Starfieldis a highly anticipated science-fiction RPGby Bethesda. Although details surrounding the game have been sparse, a mere teaser trailer has been enough to spark excitement. It is set to launch on August 05, 2025 on PC and Xbox Series X/S, and the game is the first new IP from Bethesda in 25 years. Todd has described it as “Skyrim in space,” raising expectations.
There were afew questions regardingStarfieldin Todd’s Reddit AMA. One user asked whether gamers can expect robot companions inStarfield, to which Todd replied “Yes, kind of.” Gamers who love pouring hours into creating the perfect character will be happy to know thatStarfieldwill feature a robust character creation system. In the AMA, Todd stated thatStarfieldwill allow players to select a background and skills for their character. Players will also be able to pick pronouns, andStarfieldwill feature different dialogue to support those choices.
With Bethesda games being quite popular in the modding scene, there were expectedlyquestions regardingStarfieldand modding. One Reddit user asked what type of mod support modders can expect to find in Creation Kit 2 forStarfield. According to Todd, the plan is to “have full mod support,” as has been the case for previous games. He stressed that the mod community has been there for Bethesda for 20 years and that he would love to see more people make a career out of it. When answering another Redditor, he reiterated this point, stating that his team is passionate about giving “players tools to mod the games.”
The release date forStarfieldis still a while away, and it may take some time before Bethesda shows more gameplay. When it comes to revealingStarfield, Todd stated that his team prefers to “just show it,” and that the next showcase of the game should be “next summer.”
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - The Elder Scrolls VI
Another highly anticipated title fromBethesda isThe Elder Scrolls VI. Since the game was announced at 2018’s E3 showcase, Bethesda has been very quiet about the game. While a release date forThe Elder Scrolls VIhas not been given, Todd has previously stated that the game will come out afterStarfield.
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Although many Redditors asked aboutThe Elder Scrolls VI, Todd was rather tight-lipped. The few answers he did give suggest that there is still quite some time to wait before the game sees the light of day. In the AMA, Todd acknowledged the long wait for the game and jokingly added that for Father’s Day, his son gave him a card that read “You’re an amazing Dad, but where’sTES6?”
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - Fallout
Falloutis one of Bethesda’smost successful franchises. Since the firstFalloutgame was released in 1997, the series has been continuing strong. With the franchise branching out into other mediums, gamers had a few questions to ask Todd about the future ofFallout.
A Redditor, noting that there is a cut underwater vault inFallout 4, asked Todd what Bethesda’s plans for the vault had been. According to Todd, the cut content included aBioShockstyle vault with a “massive sentient octopus living inside it.” Todd alsoopened up aboutFallout 76, a game that received a mixed reception from both fans and critics at launch. He admitted that the game “let people down,” however he and his team were “able to learn and be better from it.” Although the game got off to a rocky launch, Todd boasted that it is now one of Bethesda’s most played games.
Todd also gave confirmation thatthe announcedFalloutTV seriesis still in the works and is “moving ahead.” Although he never stated when the public can expect it, he did write that he is excited to be working with Amazon on it. Todd will be serving as an executive producer on the show.
Todd Howard Reddit AMA - All The Other Stuff
There were plenty of additional topics Todd touched on that are worth mentioning. He highlighted the importance of voice actors: Currently, the technology exists to synthesize human voices to use as in-game character voices. Todd explained that this is something the developers at Bethesda make use of to allow them to play games with voices during the development process. However, he was also adamant that there is “no substitute for professional actors” and that they are still a huge part of “development and are amazing partners in bringing these worlds to life.”
Bethesda fans will be well aware of the longwait between games in Bethesda franchises. Todd acknowledged this long wait and stated that games take a long time to get right and “quality matters most.” While that will not make gamers any more patient, it does shed some light on Bethesda’s work philosophy. Todd also went into a bit of detail regarding how Bethesda sets the tone for their games, stating Todd’s golden rule is that tone equals world. Questions his team asks themselves when designing game worlds include “What place would you want to explore? Why? Who would you be? What would you do? How does that pique your curiosity? How is that curiosity rewarded?”
Todd’s AMA reveals that Bethesda is still very hard at work post-Microsoft acquisition.WithThe Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Editionrecently released on November 11, andStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls VIset to release in the future, both Bethesda and fans of Bethesda have a busy calendar ahead.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Editionis available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
