"I Waited 11 Years" — Skyrim Lead Designer on Reason for Leaving Bethesda
Former lorekeeper for The Elder Scrolls series Kurt Kuhlmann explained why he left Bethesda after more than 20 years of work. According to him, the decisive factor was the studio reneging on its promise to make him the lead designer for The Elder Scrolls VI.
In an interview with PC Gamer, Kuhlmann stated that Todd Howard had promised him that role right after the completion of Fallout 4 in 2015. At the time, it was planned that the next major project would indeed be TES VI. However, instead, Bethesda first worked on Fallout 76 and then spent a long time developing Starfield. In the end, as the designer says, he "waited 11 years," expecting to lead the new installment of The Elder Scrolls.
Kuhlmann reminded that he was one of the studio's most experienced employees and, together with Bruce Nesmith, was the lead designer of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
I was obviously one of the studio's old-timers and had a lot of experience. Bruce and I were the lead developers on Skyrim. I think most people would call that project successful, so it seemed perfectly reasonable to me to think I could be a good lead for TES VI.
This wasn't just my personal expectation — I was directly told that's how it would be. And then they made the decision: no, you won't be the lead. Kurt Kuhlmann
Later, management changed its decision and offered him another, albeit important, position on the project. Kuhlmann describes that conversation as difficult, as his vision for the role did not align with the studio's plans.
Bethesda declined to comment on these statements. Kuhlmann himself believes that Howard would likely not confirm the previous promise, citing that much has changed over the years. The former Bethesda employee acknowledges that the scale and responsibilities of the lead designer for TES VI are vastly different from those during the Skyrim era.
Ultimately, the designer decided to leave the company in 2023. The decision was influenced not only by the events surrounding The Elder Scrolls VI but also by general disappointment with how Bethesda had changed as teams and projects grew.
Kuhlmann also shared ideas he wanted to implement in the sixth installment of "The Scrolls." According to his concept, the game would resemble "The Empire Strikes Back": the Thalmor, elven supremacists, would come to the forefront and seize power. All of this would set the stage for TES VII. However, the developer doubts the studio would approve of a "bad" ending and admits that with current development timelines, such a plot twist would seem too risky.
Recall that The Elder Scrolls VI was announced back at E3 2018 with a short teaser. Since then, Bethesda has shared almost no details, although recently Todd Howard stated that development is "going very well."