Bethesda Turned Down Obsidian’s Proposal To Work On Multiple The Elder Scrolls Spin-offs

Bethesda Game Studios had turned down multiple proposals from Obsidian Entertainment to work on The Elder Scrolls spin-offs.

Former Obsidian Entertainment developer Chris Avellone has revealed that Obsidian Entertainment had offered proposals to Bethesda Game Studios for the development of multiple The Elder Scrolls spin-offs, one of which was intended to serve the same function as Fallout: New Vegas did between Fallout 3 and Fallout 4. The latter was pitched by Avellone himself, and was intended to provide more adventures in the setting during the years before the next Bethesda release.

Avellone mentioned that he thought it couldn’t hurt to try and push a similar system to what Treyarch/Activision had going with Call of Duty at the time, but one that was less rushed. The idea was that Bethesda would do a core release, and then Obsidian would release a The Elder Scrolls title set in same world or a divergent timeline/era before the next big title from the former. He added that this information is probably less relevant today, as Elder Scrolls Online already exists. However, he said that, at the time, it seemed to be something that could have benefited both studios.

The former Obsidian developer wasn’t surprised that the idea didn’t gain much traction, however. He mentioned that he never got the impression that the higher ups at Bethesda were happy with Fallout New Vegas’s reception. He agreed that one of the negative aspects surrounding the game was that it had numerous issues at launch that the development team could have worked harder to resolve.

Avellone mentioned that another potential spin-off involved the player adventuring in an alternate The Elder Scrolls world that the last hero had failed to save in the last mainline title.

In related new, it was previously revealed that The Elder Scrolls VI will build upon the magic and leveling system found in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.