The Elder Scrolls 6: The Empire Strikes Back Edition? A Bethesda Vet's Epic Vision & Why It Never Saw the Light of Tamriel
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
A former Bethesda design lead, Kurt Kuhlmann, envisioned The Elder Scrolls 6 as an 'Empire Strikes Back'-style defeat for players, subverting the chosen one trope, but studio changes and alleged broken promises led to his departure and a different future for TES6. This tale unveils the human side of game development and grand creative visions.
Right, so picture this: You've been wandering through Tamriel for years, saving the world from dragons, Daedric princes, and a whole heap of lesser nasties. You're the Dragonborn, the Nerevarine, the Hero of Kvatch – always the chosen one, always victorious. Now, what if the next Elder Scrolls game flipped the script entirely? What if the baddies actually *won*?
Bloody hell, that's a thought, isn't it? Like casting a fireball and accidentally summoning a flock of sweet rolls. A delightful surprise, but definitely not what you expected. Well, apparently, that was the grand vision for The Elder Scrolls 6 from none other than Kurt Kuhlmann, a Bethesda veteran who spent two decades shaping the very fabric of Tamriel, even co-leading Skyrim's design.
According to a fascinating scoop by Robert Purchese over at Eurogamer.net, Kuhlmann had a specific inspiration in mind for TES6: *The Empire Strikes Back*. You know the one – that glorious middle chapter where the heroes get absolutely battered, the bad guys seem to win, and you're left with a monumental cliffhanger, desperate for the next instalment. For Tamriel, this meant the Thalmor, those smug elven supremacists, would be on the march, seemingly triumphant.
Now, as a gamer who's been through the 'chosen one' grinder a fair few times, this sounds utterly brilliant, doesn't it? Kuhlmann believed it would be a welcome shake-up from the usual heroic romp. Imagine finishing a game knowing you'd fought your heart out, perhaps even secretly saved an heir to the throne to preserve a sliver of hope, but ultimately, the world around you was crumbling under the heel of the Thalmor. The perfect setup for a truly epic comeback story in The Elder Scrolls 7. A bit of a gut punch, sure, but imagine the narrative payoff! It's the kind of bold, experimental storytelling that genuinely gets my wizarding beard tingling.
But here's where the tale takes a bit of a tumble, like a poorly cast Teleportation spell landing you in a ditch. Kuhlmann claims that after Skyrim wrapped, Todd Howard himself verbally offered him the lead designer role for TES6. The plan, apparently, was Fallout 4 next, then a swift return to the Elder Scrolls. Sound familiar? That classic developer dance of juggling massive projects.
However, as any seasoned gamer knows, plans in game development are often written in disappearing ink. Fallout 76 eventually diverted attention, then Starfield became the studio's magnum opus for several years. This meant an astonishing 11-year gap before Bethesda Game Studios could properly dive back into the Elder Scrolls. Eleven years! That's long enough for a small indie studio to pop up, release five critically acclaimed games, and then retire to a tropical island made of NFTs (okay, maybe not the last bit, but you get the drift).
Kuhlmann, who had moved on to be a lead systems designer for Starfield during this prolonged interlude, was ready. He was one of the old guard, a loremaster of the Elder Scrolls, and a co-lead on Skyrim – a project most would agree was pretty successful. He genuinely expected that promised call-up. "It wasn't just my expectation – I had been told that that was going to happen," he stated.
But the call never quite came in the way he expected. Instead of the lead role, he was offered a different, albeit "important," position on the project. And here's the kicker: there was no indication Howard even remembered the alleged verbal promise from years prior. No reference, no acknowledgement. Just a different path. It's a stark reminder of how rapidly things can change in large studios, and how easily even well-intentioned verbal agreements can become lost in the digital ether of corporate memory.
This, combined with the way Bethesda had expanded and transformed during Starfield's development – ballooning across multiple studios, a common trend in the industry that often brings its own set of challenges – contributed to Kuhlmann's decision to leave Bethesda in 2023. It’s a human story behind the corporate announcements, a creative visionary finding his path diverging from the institution he helped build. You've got to wonder how many other fantastic 'what if' scenarios are gathering dust in the minds of developers who moved on.
Now, Kuhlmann, being the thoughtful wizard he is, acknowledges that leading TES6 today is a very different beast compared to Skyrim's era. The scale, the expectations, the technology – it's all shifted. He even admits his "Empire Strikes Back" idea might have been a tough sell internally. Ending on a loss and a cliffhanger, only to ask players to wait another 10 or 15 years for the sequel? Yeah, that's a tough pill to swallow, even for the most patient hero.
So, where does that leave us? The Elder Scrolls 6 is, thankfully, officially under way. After being announced ridiculously early back in 2018 (a classic move for generating hype, but perhaps not for managing expectations), it sounds like the lengthy pre-production process is finally done, and the majority of the studio is now actively working on it. Todd Howard reiterated last November that it's still "a long way off" – which, let's be fair, we all expected.
While Kuhlmann's bold vision for a 'bad' ending might not be the direction TES6 ultimately takes, this whole saga offers a fascinating glimpse into the creative struggles and evolving realities of triple-A game development. It highlights the passion of individual creators, the unpredictable nature of large-scale projects, and the ever-present tension between ambitious artistic visions and the practicalities of making a game for millions. One can only dream of what could have been... and eagerly await what will be, however long that wait may be.
*This compelling story, shedding light on the intricate workings and potential paths of The Elder Scrolls 6, was originally reported by Robert Purchese for Eurogamer.net.*
Tags: ElderScrolls6, Bethesda, GameDevelopment, RPG, CreativeVision
Original article: Eurogamer