Skyrim Lead Designer admits Bethesda shifting to Unreal would lose ‘tech debt’, but that ‘is not the point’

Skyrim, Fallout and Starfield developer Bethesda Game Studios has created some of the most reactive open world games in history. While Starfield released on the studio’s massively expanded Creation Engine 2, the game’s technical limitations have caused many to suggest Bethesda leaves its proprietary tech behind to shift to Unreal Engine.

Speaking to VideoGamer, Skyrim lead designer and ex-Starfield systems designer Bruce Nesmith revealed that the current version of the Creation Engine has been “perfectly tuned” to make the sweeping, reactive worlds that Bethesda creates.

Should Bethesda switch to Unreal Engine?

The veteran game developer, and author of LitRPG Glory Seeker and Norse fiction novel Mischief Maker, explained that there will always be benefits to moving to a different engine, but for a studio like Bethesda, it may not be the move gamers think it is.

“We’re arguing about the game engine, let’s argue about the game,” Nesmith told VideoGamer. “The game engine is not the point, the game engine is in service to the game itself. You and I could both identify a hundred lousy games that used Unreal. Is it Unreal’s fault? No, it’s not Unreal’s fault.”

Since the release of Morrowind, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games have been built on a version of Gamebryo, a long-defunct engine that Bethesda used as the basis for its in-house Creation Engine.

“Gamebryo is no longer a business, it hasn’t been for a while,” Nesmith said. “But that engine has been constantly tweaked, updated and refined to do exactly the kinds of games that Bethesda makes: The Elder Scrolls, the Fallouts, Starfield. It’s perfectly tuned to that kind of game.”

Changing to Unreal is no easy feat

With studios like 343 Industries abandoning its Slipspace Engine for Unreal as it creates new Halo games, more companies are leaving their proprietary tech behind. Cyberpunk developer CD Project RED has left its RED Engine, Asobo Studio will no longer be using Zouna, and Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead is also likely shifting to Unreal.

As Nesmith explains, changing an engine would be a huge shift for Bethesda, and one that would take numerous years to properly implement. This would result in a period of slower development, a long training process and, of course, a massive cost.

“I would not be surprised to find out that Bethesda can no longer compile, because the original source code just doesn’t compile any more.”

SKYRIM LEAD DESIGNER BRUCE NESMITH

“Should they move to Unreal Engine? You have to do a cost benefit analysis,” Nesmith said. “The cost of moving into Unreal would be all the upfront development you’d have to make to try and shoehorn what you’re already used to being able to do into Unreal

“It would be—I’m just going to say a number that’s certainly not the real number—a year or two of technical work just to move it over to the engine as is. And then more work beyond that to tune the engine, to tune the game, to work in it. That’s the penalty side. That’s the risk side.”

However, Nesmith does admit that there is a degree of “tech debt” within Bethesda’s Creation Engine, the same as most engines. Moving to Unreal could fix some of these issues but, for the most part, it doesn’t really matter.

“The benefit is you lose a lot of tech debt,” Nesmith explained. “There are parts of the Gamebryo engine that I would not be surprised to find out that Bethesda can no longer compile, because the original source code just doesn’t compile any more. You just got to use the compiled stuff as is. But arguing over whether or not you should use this engine or that engine, the engine is in service to the game. Is the game good? I don’t care what the engine is. The game’s good! Let’s play the game.”

The effect on modding

Over the decades-long history of Bethesda releases, modding has always been a huge part of the games’ lasting legacy. Since the release of Skyrim on the Creation Engine, modders have become experts of Bethesda’s tools with Script Extenders and other mods allowing for huge fan expansions like Fallout London.

“The modding community also has a huge tech debt, Script Extender is probably the easiest one to talk about,” Nesmith told us. “Script Extender sadly has to be updated every time there’s a new update to the underlying game. They’ve put in a tremendous amount of effort, the modders, into understanding the Creation Engine and understanding the Creation Tool Kit. If there is a cut over, all that is thrown out the window and it all has to start all over again.”

“You can’t let the needs of the mod community dictate whether the game is what the game needs to be.”

EX-BETHESDA DEVELOPER BRUCE NESMITH

While Bethesda understands its talented modding community, Nesmith explained that the studio can’t focus on the needs of modders when creating a core game. Instead, the game’s needs come first, and then supporting modders come after.

“I would be shocked if that entered into the discussions as to whether or not they should go to Unreal Engine,” we were told. “You got to make the best damn game you can make, and then once you’ve done that, then you look at your mod community and say, what can I do to serve you?

But you can’t let the needs of the mod community dictate whether the game is what the game needs to be to begin with. Because if you produce a substandard game, you’re not going to have a mod community.”

As it stands, Bethesda’s Creation Engine is still being used to develop The Elder Scrolls VI, whenever that releases. Whether or not the studio does decide to shift to Unreal, or any engine, is a decision for the studio, and a very big decision to make.