Former Bethesda Senior Vice President of Global Marketing and Communications at Bethesda Pete Hines quit the company after seeing it get “broken apart, mistreated, abused” following the Microsoft acquisition.
For over two decades, Pete Hines helped in shaping not only how entries in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series were marketed, but how the game company presented itself to the public. His departure came during a period of major change for Bethesda following its acquisition by Microsoft, which altered its structure and direction. During a recent interview with Firezide, Hines revealed why he ultimately decided to step away.
Hines made it clear that the most meaningful part of his time at Bethesda was never just the games, but the people making them. On his partnership with Bethesda Executive Producer Todd Howard, he said, “I got to work with Todd Howard for 24 years, who is amazing… I love Todd Howard because of the person he is and the relationship that we got to have over 24 years.” That sense of connection extended across the teams he helped build, particularly within marketing and communications, where he personally hired much of the staff. Leaving those relationships behind proved difficult. “That was the thing that hit me hardest when I retired… not getting to see the people,” he explained.
However, he also described a gradual change in his role and the company itself. “I hit a point of realizing I could not spend the rest of my life doing something that wasn’t for me. It was for everybody else,” he says. Despite feeling that the organization still needed him, he reached a breaking point when he could no longer influence its direction. “I am powerless to do what I think needs to be done… to protect these people, to maintain what we worked so hard to create,” Hines admitted. “I saw how it was getting damaged and broken apart and frankly mistreated, abused, whatever word you want to use.”
While he never directly named Microsoft, his comments appear to be aimed at Bethesda’s post-acquisition period. “We are going to do what we say and say what we do and be genuine and be authentic,” he says, describing the values he believed defined the company. In contrast, he added, “I still think Bethesda is just part of something that is not authentic and is not genuine.”
Hines’ mentioned he had been planning to quit his job at Bethesda well in advance. “I was waiting until after Starfield,” he said. “I knew I was leaving the year before. Every time Todd delayed Starfield, I thought, fuck, I’m here another eight months.”
