Skyrim Lead Designer Reacts To Game's Enduring Appeal: "What The Hell?"

"Released in 2011, Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was a success at launch and continued to grow in popularity over the years. It's now sold more than 60 million copies and ranks as the No. 8 best-selling game in history. Why has the game had such enduring appeal? Lead designer Bruce Nesmith said on the FRVR Podcast that the game's open-world design was done in a way that "nobody had ever done before" and that only "very few" games have tried to do since."

""By all rights, a year later, some other game should have eclipsed it. And then two years later, three years later, five, 10. It's like, 'What the hell is going on here?'" he said, as reported by IGN. Nesmith, who has since left Bethesda, said he remembers when Bethesda boss Todd Howard--who directed Skyrim--would host in meetings in which he would tell staff about how wildly popular the game continued to be some 10 years after launch."

"Nesmith went on to say that Bethesda accepted that Skyrim would have bugs and quirks, and fans did too. "You're going to have weird stuff happen. And if you say that's okay, you can get this diamond," he said. Before this, Howard said of Skyrim's ongoing appeal and all the subsequent re-releases for new platforms: "If you want us to stop releasing it, stop buying it." It's become something of a joke that Bethesda will release the game on any and all platforms, including Alexa devices."

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim launched in 2011 and has since sold over 60 million copies, placing it among the top-selling games. The game’s open-world design is credited as a key factor in its longevity, with designers describing the approach as unprecedented and rarely replicated. Bethesda and players accepted persistent bugs and oddities as part of the experience, a stance that helped the game become beloved despite technical quirks. Re-releases across many platforms, and even unconventional ports, sustained interest and sales. Bethesda is developing The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, with future releases still some time away.

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