{"id":2169088,"date":"2026-09-29T10:44:39","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T07:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2169088"},"modified":"2026-09-29T10:44:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T07:44:39","slug":"the-elder-scrolls-online-is-partly-why-skyrim-never-got-a-fallout-new-vegas-style-spin-off-says-bethesda-veteran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2169088","title":{"rendered":"The Elder Scrolls Online is partly why Skyrim never got a Fallout: New Vegas-style spin-off, says Bethesda veteran"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">The Elder Scrolls Online is partly why Skyrim never got a Fallout: New Vegas-style spin-off, says Bethesda veteran<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Tamriel talk.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/the-elder-scrolls-online-image-portal.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"The Elder Scrolls Online portal.\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"the-elder-scrolls-online-image-portal.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Zenimax Online Studios<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Sherif Saed avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"IMG_1950_Uy1XomJ.JPG\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"1638\" height=\"1346\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/sherif-saed\">Sherif Saed<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Senior Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\n<p>Published on   <time datetime=\"2026-09-29T10:44:39+00:00\" data-auto-time-zone=\"true\" data-year=\"numeric\" data-month=\"short\" data-day=\"numeric\" data-hour=\"numeric\" data-minute=\"numeric\">Sept. 29, 2026, 10:44 a.m.<\/time>\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"header_actions\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"49078ef1-881d-46a9-bd80-4762c299dfaa\" data-name=\"Fallout 3\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Fallout 3\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Fallout 3\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Fallout 3\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Fallout 3\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Fallout 3\" title=\"Follow Fallout 3\"><br \/>\n  Follow Fallout 3<br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n  <a class=\"button outline wide preferred_source_button\" data-component=\"preferred-source-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=eurogamer.net\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n    <span class=\"logo\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><br \/>\nPrioritise us on Google  <\/a>\n          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p>Why did The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim never receive a spin-off like Bethesda&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-3\">Fallout 3<\/a> did, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-new-vegas\">Fallout: New Vegas<\/a>? According to Skyrim co-lead designer Kurt Kuhlmann, it&#8217;s because of The Elder Scrolls Online. Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/frvr.com\/blog\/news\/the-elder-scrolls-never-received-a-new-vegas-style-spin-off-as-bethesda-and-todd-howard-are-very-protective-of-the-iconic-rpg-series\/\">FRVR<\/a> (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.videogameschronicle.com\/news\/the-elder-scrolls-never-got-a-spin-off-like-fallout-new-vegas-because-todd-howard-is-protective-of-the-ip-former-dev-says\">VGC<\/a>), the 20-year studio veteran said the MMORPG essentially kept Elder Scrolls fans occupied while Bethesda focused on other projects.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I do think The Elder Scrolls Online took the heat off,&#8221; Kuhlmann said. &#8220;There was a new Elder Scrolls product, and it was ongoing. It was creating new content constantly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kuhlmann explained that although the series had always been known as a single-player experience, The Elder Scrolls Online changed that, and ended up being the main ESO game for a lot of players.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are a lot of people\u2026 I mean, I know [there are] the single-player people, I&#8217;m one of those people &#8211; but there are a lot of people to whom The Elder Scrolls is now The Elder Scrolls Online. That&#8217;s their experience with it. That&#8217;s what they love. That&#8217;s where they got their Elder Scrolls gaming experience, and that&#8217;s probably what they want more of.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Another reason why Skyrim never got its own New Vegas spin-off has to do with that game&#8217;s popularity and critical acclaim, which started something of a rivalry between Bethesda and New Vegas developer Obsidian.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The whole New Vegas thing did create this &#8211; at least the perception of this &#8211; &#8216;Who makes a better Fallout game? Oh, they should just give it to Obsidian&#8217; [situation],&#8221; Kuhlmann pointed out.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are the Obsidian, New Vegas people that think obviously New Vegas is way better, Obsidian is way better at making those games, and why don&#8217;t they just get Fallout altogether,&#8221; he went on.<\/p>\n<p>By Kuhlmann&#8217;s assessment, series creator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/personas\/todd-howard\">Todd Howard<\/a> didn&#8217;t want a repeat of that situation within The Elder Scrolls series. &#8220;Todd, from my time there, he is very protective of it,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Obsidian, of course, was recently confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/elder-scrolls-6-xbox-layoffs-bethesda-reaction\">to have started working on a new Fallout game in collaboration with Bethesda<\/a>, following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">sweeping cuts across the Xbox division<\/a>. Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/obsidian-creative-identity-bethesda-fallout-xbox-restructuring\">another round of reorganisation moved Obsidian fully under Bethesda&#8217;s purview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As for The Elder Scrolls Online, the game&#8217;s development will continue, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zenimax-online-studios-layoffs-microsoft-2026\">severe cuts at its studio Zenimax Online<\/a> mean the scope of future additions has changed, even as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-elder-scrolls-online-developer-posts-extensive-roadmap-and-reiterates-that-the-game-is-here-to-stay-in-spite-of-sweeping-xbox-layoffs\">Zenimax Online continues to reassure fans that ESO is not going away<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Elder Scrolls 6 remains in development, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/elder-scrolls-6-development-roadmap-unaffected-xbox-layoffs\">with Bethesda claiming the layoffs have not affected its development roadmap<\/a>. The game has no public release target.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\" data-autopogo>\n<p>Why did The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim never receive a spin-off like Bethesda&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-3\">Fallout 3<\/a> did, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/fallout-new-vegas\">Fallout: New Vegas<\/a>? According to Skyrim co-lead designer Kurt Kuhlmann, it&#8217;s because of The Elder Scrolls Online. Speaking to <a href=\"https:\/\/frvr.com\/blog\/news\/the-elder-scrolls-never-received-a-new-vegas-style-spin-off-as-bethesda-and-todd-howard-are-very-protective-of-the-iconic-rpg-series\/\">FRVR<\/a> (via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.videogameschronicle.com\/news\/the-elder-scrolls-never-got-a-spin-off-like-fallout-new-vegas-because-todd-howard-is-protective-of-the-ip-former-dev-says\">VGC<\/a>), the 20-year studio veteran said the MMORPG essentially kept Elder Scrolls fans occupied while Bethesda focused on other projects.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I do think The Elder Scrolls Online took the heat off,&#8221; Kuhlmann said. &#8220;There was a new Elder Scrolls product, and it was ongoing. It was creating new content constantly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Kuhlmann explained that although the series had always been known as a single-player experience, The Elder Scrolls Online changed that, and ended up being the main ESO game for a lot of players.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are a lot of people\u2026 I mean, I know [there are] the single-player people, I&#8217;m one of those people &#8211; but there are a lot of people to whom The Elder Scrolls is now The Elder Scrolls Online. That&#8217;s their experience with it. That&#8217;s what they love. That&#8217;s where they got their Elder Scrolls gaming experience, and that&#8217;s probably what they want more of.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Another reason why Skyrim never got its own New Vegas spin-off has to do with that game&#8217;s popularity and critical acclaim, which started something of a rivalry between Bethesda and New Vegas developer Obsidian.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The whole New Vegas thing did create this &#8211; at least the perception of this &#8211; &#8216;Who makes a better Fallout game? Oh, they should just give it to Obsidian&#8217; [situation],&#8221; Kuhlmann pointed out.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;There are the Obsidian, New Vegas people that think obviously New Vegas is way better, Obsidian is way better at making those games, and why don&#8217;t they just get Fallout altogether,&#8221; he went on.<\/p>\n<p>By Kuhlmann&#8217;s assessment, series creator <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/personas\/todd-howard\">Todd Howard<\/a> didn&#8217;t want a repeat of that situation within The Elder Scrolls series. &#8220;Todd, from my time there, he is very protective of it,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Obsidian, of course, was recently confirmed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/elder-scrolls-6-xbox-layoffs-bethesda-reaction\">to have started working on a new Fallout game in collaboration with Bethesda<\/a>, following <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/microsoft-xbox-layoffs-2026-double-fine-compulsion-ninja-theory\">sweeping cuts across the Xbox division<\/a>. Last week, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/obsidian-creative-identity-bethesda-fallout-xbox-restructuring\">another round of reorganisation moved Obsidian fully under Bethesda&#8217;s purview<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As for The Elder Scrolls Online, the game&#8217;s development will continue, but <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/zenimax-online-studios-layoffs-microsoft-2026\">severe cuts at its studio Zenimax Online<\/a> mean the scope of future additions has changed, even as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/the-elder-scrolls-online-developer-posts-extensive-roadmap-and-reiterates-that-the-game-is-here-to-stay-in-spite-of-sweeping-xbox-layoffs\">Zenimax Online continues to reassure fans that ESO is not going away<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Elder Scrolls 6 remains in development, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/elder-scrolls-6-development-roadmap-unaffected-xbox-layoffs\">with Bethesda claiming the layoffs have not affected its development roadmap<\/a>. The game has no public release target.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News The Elder Scrolls Online is partly why Skyrim never got a Fallout: New Vegas-style spin-off, says Bethesda veteran Tamriel talk. Image credit: Zenimax Online Studios News by Sherif Saed Senior Contributor Published on Sept. 29, 2026, 10:44 a.m. Follow Fallout 3 Prioritise us on Google Why did The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim never [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2169088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2169088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2169088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2169088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2169088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2169088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}