Bethesda Game Studios

American video game developer

Bethesda Game Studios

Company type| Division
Industry| Video games
Founded| 2001; 23 years ago (2001)
Headquarters|

Rockville, Maryland

Key people

* Angela Browder (studio director)
* Ashley Cheng (managing director)
* Todd Howard (executive producer)

Products|

* The Elder Scrolls series (2002–present)
* Fallout series (2008–present)
* Starfield (2023)

Number of employees

| >450 (2023)
Parent| Bethesda Softworks
Website| bethesdagamestudios.com

Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. It is best known for its action role-playing franchises, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield. Bethesda Game Studios was established in 2001 as the development unit of Bethesda Softworks, separating from publishing operations. Todd Howard serves as the studio's executive producer, leading it with managing director Ashley Cheng and studio director Angela Browder. As of November 2023, Bethesda Game Studios had 450 employees.[1]

## History

[edit]

Bethesda Game Studios was established in 2001. Previously, Bethesda Softworks, then a developer and publisher, had been reorganized as a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. ZeniMax's Robert A. Altman sought to grow the development unit, which was spun off from Bethesda Softworks as Bethesda Game Studios, starting out with roughly 40 people.[2][3]

By 2008, Bethesda Game Studios was considered one of the industry's top developers on the reputation of The Elder Scrolls fantasy universe and the critically acclaimed Fallout 3. Bethesda had created a unique role for itself, “spending years to create massive, open-world, single-player RPGs — hardly a booming genre in the industry at large — to great success, bringing a once-niche PC genre to a broad multiplatform audience,” wrote Gamasutra in their year-end best-of list.[4]

In December 2015, Bethesda Game Studios opened a satellite studio in Montreal under the leadership of Yves Lachance, the former head of Behaviour Interactive.[5] In 2018, two ZeniMaxi-owned studios became part of Bethesda Game Studios: BattleCry Studios was renamed Bethesda Game Studios Austin in March, and Escalation Studios was turned into Bethesda Game Studios Dallas in August.[6][7] Microsoft acquired ZeniMax in March 2021.[8][9]

### Unions

[edit]

Main article: Microsoft and unions

All four studios of Bethesda Game Studios have union representation with Communications Workers of America which represent all employees in both the United States and Canada. These are the first "wall to wall" unions within a Microsoft bargaining unit.[10]

241 US employees unionized as "OneBGS" on July 20, 2024. The bargaining unit includes employees at three studios in Austin, Dallas, Texas and Rockville, Maryland.[11] The unit includes artists, developers, and engineers; unlike its parent company ZeniMax, which exclusively represents QA testers.[10][12] The Montreal studio of Bethesda Game Studios was certified on August 13, 2024 with support of Communications Workers of America Canada.[13]

## Technology

[edit]

Main article: Creation Engine

## Satellite studios

[edit]

### Bethesda Game Studios Austin

[edit]

ZeniMax Media announced the opening of BattleCry Studios in Austin, Texas, on October 3, 2012, with Rich Vogel as its president.[14] The studio immediately began hiring developers with experience in microtransactions and free-to-play games, growing to roughly 35 employees by November 2013.[15][16] It announced its first project, the multiplayer combat game BattleCry, in May 2014.[17] However, the studio laid off a significant portion of its staff in September 2015, followed by the cancellation of BattleCry in October to focus on different projects.[18][19] Among these projects, it was tasked with modifying Bethesda Game Studios's Creation Engine to support multiplayer functionality for Fallout 76, working with another sister studio, id Software, and repurposed some netcode from Quake.[20] BattleCry Studios then assisted Bethesda Game Studios on the game itself and in August 2016 replaced Certain Affinity in assisting id Software to develop multiplayer components for Doom.[21][22] Vogel left BattleCry Studios by September 2017 to join Certain Affinity.[23] In March 2018, BattleCry Studios, now under studio director Doug Mellencamp, was integrated into Bethesda Game Studios and renamed Bethesda Game Studios Austin.[24]

### Bethesda Game Studios Dallas

[edit]

Tom Mustaine, Marc Tardif, and Shawn Green founded Escalation Studios in 2007.[25][26] Mustaine had previously co-founded Ritual Entertainment, while Tardif had been an executive producer and the senior vice president of business development at Gearbox Software.[27][28] In January 2012, the social gaming company 6waves Lolapps (6L) announced its acquisition of the studio on undisclosed terms.[26][29] Mustaine and Tardif became Escalation Studios's design directors, while Green acceded to 6L as its director of engineering.[26] At the time, Escalation had around 30 employees.[30] However, in March 2012, 6L announced it was laying off all of its development staff, keeping Escalation Studios active "in some capacity".[31] The studio spun off from 6L by May 2012.[32] ZeniMax Media then acquired it on February 1, 2017.[25][27] In August 2018, it was integrated with Bethesda Game Studios and renamed Bethesda Game Studios Dallas.[33] It immediately began assisting the studio on Starfield.[34]

### Bethesda Game Studios Montreal

[edit]

Bethesda Game Studios announced the opening of a Montreal, Canada, office on December 9, 2015. At the time of the announcement, the studio employed 40 developers under studio director Yves Lachance.[35][36] Bethesda Game Studios had previously worked with Lachance on several projects while he was at Behaviour Interactive, including Fallout Shelter, which Bethesda Game Studios Montreal immediately took over.[35][37] In June 2024, the studio's developers announced their intent to unionize with support from the Canadian branch of the Communications Workers of America.[38] Lechance left the studio in July to lead WB Games Montréal.[39]

## Games developed

[edit]

Bethesda Game Studios has principally been involved in the development of role-playing video games with their The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series for consoles and personal computers, most of which have been commercially and critically successful.[40][41]

In 2015, the studio entered into the mobile gaming market with Fallout Shelter based on the same franchise, which gained 50 million players by mid-2016. In February 2017, Howard said that they are in development of another mobile title following onto the success of Fallout Shelter.[42] This was revealed in 2018 to be The Elder Scrolls: Blades.

In 2016, Howard confirmed that while they are developing The Elder Scrolls VI, it was still a long way to the game's release. Meanwhile, two other significant projects are in development which are expected to be released prior to The Elder Scrolls VI.[43] On May 30, 2018, Fallout 76 was announced.[44] On June 10, 2018, during Bethesda's E3 2018 conference, the other project in development was revealed to be the company's first new intellectual property in 25 years, Starfield. During the 2021 Xbox/Bethesda Games Showcase, Starfield was announced to be releasing exclusively for PC and Xbox Series X/S. Starfield released on September 6, 2023.[45][46] On June 14, 2022, Howard confirmed that Fallout 5 would start development after the completion of The Elder Scrolls VI, with the latter currently in the pre-production phase of development.[47]

Year  | Title  | Platform(s)

|
|

2002  | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | Windows, Xbox
2004  | IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005 | PlayStation 2, Xbox
2006  | IHRA Drag Racing: Sportsman Edition | PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
2008  | Fallout 3
2011  | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2015  | Fallout Shelter | Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
Fallout 4 | PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2016  | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2017  | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | PlayStation 4, Windows
Fallout 4 VR | Windows
2018  | Fallout 76 | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
2020  | The Elder Scrolls: Blades | Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch[48]
2023  | The Elder Scrolls: Castles | Android[49]
Starfield | Windows, Xbox Series X/S
TBA  | The Elder Scrolls VI | TBA

### Expansion packs

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Game  | Platform(s)

|
|
|

2002  | Tribunal | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | Windows, Xbox
2003  | Bloodmoon
2006  | Knights of the Nine | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360
2007  | Shivering Isles
2009  | Operation: Anchorage | Fallout 3
The Pitt
Broken Steel
Point Lookout
Mothership Zeta
2012  | Dawnguard | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Hearthfire
Dragonborn
2016  | Automatron | Fallout 4 | PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox One
Wasteland Workshop
Far Harbor
Contraptions Workshop
Vault-Tec Workshop
Nuka-World
2020  | The Pitt[50] | Fallout 76
Steel Reign[51]
Steel Dawn[52]
Wastelanders[53]
2024  | Shattered Space | Starfield | Windows, Xbox Series X/S

## Awards

[edit]

* Gamasutra's Best of 2008 — Top Five Developer[4]
* 2011 Spike Video Game Awards — Studio of the Year[54]
* 2015 The Game Awards — Developer of the Year (nominated)[55]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Todd Howard Breaks Down His Video Game Career". YouTube. November 15, 2023. Event occurs at 15:05. Archived from the original on November 15, 2023. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
2. ^ "Bethesda Joins Xbox – Roundtable". YouTube. March 11, 2021. Event occurs at 1:02:27. Archived from the original on December 15, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
3. ^ "The History of Bethesda Game Studios - Elder Scrolls / Fallout Documentary". June 5, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018 - via YouTube.
4. ^ a b Carless, Simon; Remo, Chris; Nutt, Christian; Alexander, Leigh; Eric, Caoili (December 31, 2008). "Gamasutra's Best Of 2008". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 23, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
5. ^ Kato, Matthew (December 9, 2015). "Bethesda Opens New Studio In Montreal". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
6. ^ Dring, Christopher (March 9, 2018). "BattleCry Studios becomes third Bethesda Game Studios office". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
7. ^ Fogel, Stefanie (August 10, 2018). "Escalation Studios Is Now Bethesda Game Studios Dallas". Variety. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
8. ^ Bass, Dina; Schreier, Jason (September 21, 2020). "Microsoft to Buy Bethesda for $7.5 Billion to Boost Xbox". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on September 21, 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
9. ^ Robinson, Andy (March 9, 2021). "Microsoft confirms its Bethesda acquisition is complete and 'some games' will be exclusive". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
10. ^ a b Peters, Jay (July 19, 2024). "Bethesda Game Studios workers have unionized". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 19, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
11. ^ Reuben, Nic (July 22, 2024). "Bethesda Game Studios developers 'ecstatic' to announce a 241-strong 'wall to wall' union". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on August 20, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
12. ^ Wilde, Tyler (July 20, 2024). "Bethesda Game Studios developers form 'wall to wall' union that includes artists, designers, and programmers". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on July 21, 2024. Retrieved July 21, 2024.
13. ^ "Bethesda Game Studios Workers Win Labour Board Certification, Officially Join CWA Canada". CWA Canada. August 16, 2024. Archived from the original on August 16, 2024. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
14. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (October 3, 2012). "Battlecry Studios is new Austin-based developer from Bethesda Softworks". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
15. ^ Reahard, Jef (October 4, 2012). "Bethesda's new Battlecry Studios looking for F2P experts". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 27, 2017. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
16. ^ Gaar, Brian (November 2, 2013). "Gaar: After dry spell, some Austin gaming studios staffing up". Austin American-Statesman. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
17. ^ Molina, Brett (May 28, 2014). "Bethesda unveils free-to-play game 'Battlecry'". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
18. ^ Rosales, Lani (September 10, 2015). "BattleCry Studios lays off unknown number of staff in Austin". The American Genius. Archived from the original on September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
19. ^ Prescott, Shaun (October 8, 2015). "Bethesda has 'concerns' about Battlecry and is 'evaluating' it". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved September 17, 2016.
20. ^ O'Dwyer, Danny (June 12, 2018). The Making of Fallout 76 – Noclip Documentary. Noclip. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2018 - via YouTube.
21. ^ Schreier, Jason (May 30, 2018). "Bethesda Announces Fallout: 76". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2018.
22. ^ Holmes, Mike (August 6, 2016). "BattleCry devs now working with id on Doom multiplayer". Gamereactor UK. Archived from the original on March 10, 2018. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
23. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (September 22, 2017). "Rich Vogel joins Certain Affinity". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
24. ^ Dring, Christopher (March 9, 2018). "BattleCry Studios becomes third Bethesda Game Studios office". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on March 9, 2018. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
25. ^ a b Grubb, Jeff (February 1, 2017). "Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax acquires Doom co-developer Escalation Studios". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
26. ^ a b c Wauters, Robin (January 18, 2012). "6waves Lolapps Buys Mobile Games Developer Escalation Studios". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
27. ^ a b O'Connor, Alice (February 1, 2017). "Doom helpers Escalation Studios join ZeniMax". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
28. ^ Byrne, Katharine (February 1, 2017). "ZeniMax acquires Doom SnapMap team Escalation Studios". MCV/Develop. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
29. ^ Curtis, Tom (January 18, 2012). "6waves Lolapps acquires mobile developer Escalation Studios". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
30. ^ Takahashi, Dean (January 18, 2012). "6waves Lolapps acquires mobile game maker Escalation Studios". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
31. ^ Curtis, Tom (March 19, 2012). "6waves Lolapps lays off dev staff to focus on publishing business". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
32. ^ "We're back baby!". Escalation Studios. May 15, 2012. Archived from the original on August 7, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
33. ^ Bertz, Matt (August 10, 2018). "Escalation Studios Rebranded As Bethesda Game Studios Dallas". Game Informer. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2023.
34. ^ Hussain, Tamoor (August 10, 2018). "Bethesda Has A New Studio And It's Working On Starfield". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
35. ^ a b Sinclair, Brendan (December 9, 2015). "Bethesda launches Montreal studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
36. ^ "Bethesda Game Studios sets up shop in Montreal". The Gazette. December 9, 2015. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
37. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (November 20, 2017). "Behaviour closes Santiago studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on June 1, 2024. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
38. ^ Kerr, Chris (June 27, 2024). "Bethesda Game Studios Montreal workers are trying to unionize". Game Developer. Archived from the original on June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
39. ^ Batchelor, James (July 31, 2024). "Warner Bros hires Bethesda studio director to lead WB Games Montreal". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
40. ^ Petty, Jared (June 14, 2016). "Bethesda Says Two Upcoming Games Are as Big as Skyrim and Fallout". IGN. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
41. ^ Davidson, John (February 18, 2017). "Bethesda's Todd Howard Hints at 3 New Games". Glixel. Archived from the original on February 18, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
42. ^ Makuch, Eddie (February 17, 2017). "Skyrim Director Teases Next Mobile Game". GameSpot. Archived from the original on February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
43. ^ Chalk, Andy (June 14, 2016). "The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development, Todd Howard confirms". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on May 1, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
44. ^ Schreier, Jason (May 30, 2018). "Bethesda Announces Fallout: 76". Kotaku. Archived from the original on June 3, 2018. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
45. ^ Makuch, Eddie (June 13, 2021). "Starfield Release Date Set For November 11, 2022 As Exclusive To Xbox And PC". GameSpot. Archived from the original on June 23, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2021.
46. ^ Stanton, Rich (May 12, 2022). "Of course Starfield is delayed—what did you expect?". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 12, 2022.
47. ^ Skrebels, Joe (June 14, 2022). "Todd Howard Confirms Fallout 5 Is Coming After Elder Scrolls 6". IGN. Archived from the original on June 20, 2022. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
48. ^ Fenlon, Wes (June 11, 2018). "The Elder Scrolls: Blades is a free-to-play RPG coming to PC and mobile this fall". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on June 11, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
49. ^ Ivan, Tom (September 29, 2023). "Bethesda has surprise launched The Elder Scrolls: Castles". Video Games Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 29, 2023. Retrieved October 13, 2023.
50. ^ "The Pitt". Fallout 76. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
51. ^ "Steel Reign". Fallout 76. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
52. ^ "Steel Dawn". Fallout 76. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
53. ^ "Wastelanders". Fallout 76. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
54. ^ "SpikeTV Video Game Awards 2011". Spike (TV network). Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
55. ^ "Nominees | The Game Awards 2015". The Game Awards. Ola Balola. November 12, 2015. Archived from the original on November 14, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Bethesda Game Studios

The Elder Scrolls|

* The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
* Tribunal
* Bloodmoon
* IV: Oblivion
* Knights of the Nine
* Shivering Isles
* V: Skyrim
* Dawnguard
* Hearthfire
* Dragonborn
* Blades
* VI

IHRA Drag Racing|

* IHRA Professional Drag Racing 2005
* Sportsman Edition

Fallout|

* Fallout 3
* DLC
* Shelter
* 4
* Far Harbor
* Nuka-World
* other DLC
* 76

Other games|

* Starfield
* Shattered Space

People|

* Todd Howard
* Emil Pagliarulo
* Istvan Pely

Technology|

* Creation Engine
* Radiant AI

Related|

* Creation Club
* Fallout (American TV series)
* "Children of the Sky"
* Bethesda Softworks
* ZeniMax Media

Category

* v
* t
* e

ZeniMax Media

A subsidiary of Microsoft Gaming

Founders|

* Robert A. Altman
* Christopher Weaver

Publisher|

* Bethesda Softworks

Studios|

* Arkane Studios
* Bethesda Game Studios
* id Software
* MachineGames
* ZeniMax Online Studios

Former studios|

* Alpha Dog Games
* Arkane Austin
* Flashpoint Productions
* Tango Gameworks
* Roundhouse Studios

Franchises|

* Commander Keen
* Dishonored
* Doom
* The Elder Scrolls
* The Evil Within
* Fallout
* IHRA Drag Racing
* Prey
* Quake
* Rage
* Starfield
* Wolfenstein

Category

* v
* t
* e

Xbox Game Studios

Microsoft Gaming

Franchises|

* Age of Empires
* Banjo-Kazooie
* The Bard's Tale
* Battletoads
* Blinx
* Blue Dragon
* Conker
* Crackdown
* Crimson Skies
* Fable
* Forza
* Gears of War
* Halo
* Killer Instinct
* Links
* Lips
* Microsoft Flight Simulator
* Minecraft
* NBA Inside Drive
* NFL Fever
* Ninety-Nine Nights
* Ori
* Perfect Dark
* Pillars of Eternity
* Project Gotham Racing
* Psychonauts
* Sabreman
* Shadowrun
* State of Decay
* Viva Piñata
* Wasteland
* Zoo Tycoon

Subsidiaries|

* The Coalition
* Compulsion Games
* Double Fine
* Halo Studios
* The Initiative
* inXile Entertainment
* Mojang Studios
* Ninja Theory
* Obsidian Entertainment
* Playground Games
* Rare
* Turn 10 Studios
* Undead Labs
* World's Edge

Former
subsidiaries|

* Aces Game Studio
* BigPark
* Bungie
* Digital Anvil
* Ensemble Studios
* FASA Studio
* Lift London
* Lionhead Studios
* Press Play
* Twisted Pixel Games
* Xbox Entertainment Studios

People|

* Phil Spencer
* Brian Fargo
* Larry Hryb
* Bonnie Ross
* Tim Schafer
* Joseph Staten
* Feargus Urquhart

Related|

* List of developed games
* Games included with Windows
* MSN Games
* Activision Blizzard
* ZeniMax Media

Authority control databases: National |

* Germany

|

*[TBA]: To be announced
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