Can we still trust Bethesda to make good video games?

Gamers have a complicated relationship with Bethesda and the famed developer’s games, and much of that comes down to players’ inability to trust Bethesda to actually deliver on its promises.

When Bethesda was at its peak, gamers forgave it for some of the worst technical sins known to the sometimes buggy world of video games. Spinning lifeless bodies, cars disappearing, NPCs hearing your gunfire when you haven’t even taken out a weapon yet, and other odd occurrences were par for the course. These issues would get some games canceled, but gamers just chuckled through all of the insane bugs in Fallout 4 and other hit Bethesda titles.

That’s because Bethesda’s games were so incredible to experience that the bugs were just minor inconveniences. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4 had heartfelt, exciting storylines, immersive gameplay, likeable NPCs, and engrossing worlds with unmatched aura. Sneaking around the Salem Museum of Witchcraft in Fallout 4 in hopes of avoiding a Deathclaw while listening to 50s classics left players tense due to the game’s style, sound design, and eerie atmosphere.

While these earlier games made Bethesda an iconic gaming studio, it also created immensely high expectations. And Bethesda has since failed to meet those expectations time and time again.

Fallout 76 crashes and burns

When Fallout fans first heard of the concept of playing in the dystopian, radioactive world of Fallout but with the opportunity to encounter other players in Fallout 76, it sounded like an unbeatable experience. But the game tanked, hard.

When Fallout 76 first came out, the world felt empty. It was devoid of any real threats or even anything to really do. Encountering another player was rare. Even worse, there were no NPCs — instead, players were tasked with heading from site to site to listen to pre-recorded tapes.

This made all of the game’s technical issues a more glaring problem. Nobody was laughing anymore. The amount of cheaters and bugs caused the game to fail miserably soon after launch.

Said Director Todd Howard at the time: “Frankly, there were very few things at launch that we didn’t screw up.”

Later on, Bethesda smoothed out the bugs and fans of the concept came crawling back. It wasn’t the Fallout 5 experience the majority of Fallout players wanted, but those into the online version of Fallout ended up having a blast when the changes arrived. But it still never reached the same popularity or acclaim as had previous Fallout titles.

Starfield becomes another Bethesda game failure

The concept of Fallout or Elder Scrolls in space was definitely an appealing one, especially after the mild success of Outer Worlds. But Starfield was another game that ended up feeling empty and uninspiring. The great number of missions that required you to rush back and forth over long distances full of nothingness made the game feel repetitive and uncreative. There were no NPCs to really latch onto that had the same personalities and backstories as the ones that made the Fallout games in particular feel so special.

The other issue with Starfield was its complexity. Controlling the ship and the user interface were stressful to say the least, taking away from the experience even more. Looking up how to properly land a ship at a certain dock was not an ideal way to spend 30 minutes of one’s free time.

The year following its release, Starfield received plenty of bug and content fixes that pleased what remained of the game’s community. While Starfield was never as widely loved and enjoyed as games like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Fallout 3, hardcore sci-fi lovers continued to enjoy the complex ship modifying mechanics and the seemingly long stretches of open space available to explore.

Can fans trust Bethesda anymore?

Bethesda is very busy in 2025. There are still content updates planned for Fallout 76 and Starfield, providing loyal fans with some exciting challenges and exploration opportunities. There are also talks of a Skyrim remaster. But what about new games?

In May 2025, Bethesda and id Software released Doom: The Dark Ages, a prequel to 2016’s Doom. The over-the-top grizzly visuals and violent fighting has lived up to most players’ expectations. Players rip through demons hordes to get to epic leaders and explore murky, dark castles, staying true to past titles’ style while offering something new for Doom fans. It’s proof that Bethesda has the potential to go back to a popular series and iterate with success.

Right now, Bethesda has confirmed that sequels to its most popular series are coming. While there’s no release dates quite yet, fans should expect Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 to come within the next few years — maybe 2026 or 2027. This will be make or break for Bethesda, and a pivotal time during which the company will attempt to earn back the trust it has lost with so many of its players and fans.

While controversy over Microsoft’s purchase of the studio and the layoffs that followed left a bad taste in the mouths of many on the outside, Bethesda’s remaining team still seems capable of not just keeping beloved series going, but even improving on them. It’s difficult to think of ways that Elder Scrolls and Fallout could be vastly improved, but in the right hands, these series could reach the heights that Starfield and Fallout 76 failed to.

If the new Bethesda games can follow in the footsteps of Doom: The Dark Ages, they can keep the same tone and style of their points of origin while improving upon the player experience and visuals. But if they fail, gamers may be able to forgive Bethesda, or trust them, ever again.