Line #22 Creator/Bethesda


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bethesda_softworks_logo.png]]
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3	[[https://bethesda.net/ Bethesda Softworks LLC]] is a video game development and publishing company that was founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver in Bethesda, Maryland.
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5	They had a hand in developing the first ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' for EA in 1988 and developed a number of other licensed games ([[WebVideo/JonTron including]] ''Film/HomeAlone''), but would not reach true success until ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena'' was released in 1994.
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7	They went on to release several ''{{Franchise/Terminator}}'' games, including one of the first fully-3D games, ''VideoGame/TerminatorFutureShock'' (released several months before ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}''), before continuing the ''Elder Scrolls'' series with ''Daggerfall'' in 1996. ''Daggerfall'' was notoriously buggy and commercially unsuccessful, and after releasing two equally unsuccessful spin-offs based on ''Daggerfall'' (''An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire'' and ''TES Adventures: Redguard''), Bethesda was looking at bankruptcy.
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9	In 1999, the studio formed a new parent company, [=ZeniMax=] Media, which was designed to be an operational and administrative entity (but would go on to acquire other studios, including Creator/IdSoftware, Creator/ArkaneStudios and [[Creator/ShinjiMikami Tango Gameworks]]). In 2001, Bethesda Softworks split its development and publishing arms into two separate divisions, with Bethesda Game Studios serving as a flagship studio, and Bethesda Softworks serving only as a publishing label for Bethesda Game Studios and other [=ZeniMax=] properties. In 2002, they released the third entry in the ''Elder Scrolls'' main series with ''Morrowind''. A critical and commercial BreakthroughHit which redefined the genre and proved that it could be successful on [[MultiPlatform consoles as well as PC]], Bethesda reached new heights.
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11	In 2004, the company also acquired the ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' franchise from Creator/InterplayEntertainment, and revamped it into a 3D first-person RPG akin to ''The Elder Scrolls'' with ''VideoGame/Fallout3''. Since then, Bethesda has grown into a titan of western gaming [[note]]Indeed, Bethesda Game Studios now has ''three'' different studio teams - The original and main studio in Rockville, MD, a second studio opened in Montreal, Quebec, and [=BattleCry=] Studios in Austin, TX after Zenimax bought them out[[/note]], although its tendency to completely rebuild its games from the ground up with each sequel (which usually means axing old features in favor of new ones) proved to be divisive at times.
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13	On September 21, 2020, it was announced that [=ZeniMax=] Media was to be acquired by Creator/{{Microsoft}}, adding it and its subsidiaries under the Creator/XboxGameStudios banner. The acquisition was completed on March 9, 2021, after US and EU approval. Bethesda's publishing duties were transferred over to Xbox, though the 'Bethesda Softworks' name is still used for games developed by its former subsidiaries.
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16	!!Games and series developed by Bethesda Game Studios:
17	[[index]]
18	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' franchise:
19	** Main Series:
20	*** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena'' (1994)
21	*** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall'' (1996)
22	*** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' (2002)
23	*** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' (2006)
24	*** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' (2011)
25	*** ''The Elder Scrolls VI'' (TBA)
26	** Spin-Offs:
27	*** ''VideoGame/AnElderScrollsLegendBattlespire'' (1997)
28	*** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsAdventuresRedguard'' (1998)
29	* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' franchise (acquired from Creator/InterplayEntertainment):
30	** Main Series:
31	*** ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' (2008)
32	*** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' (2015)
33	** Spin-Offs:
34	*** ''VideoGame/Fallout76'' (2018)
35	* ''VideoGame/{{Starfield}}'' (2023)
36	[[/index]]
37
38	!!Games and series published by Bethesda Softworks (in addition to the Bethesda Game Studios games)
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40	[[index]]
41	* ''VideoGame/{{BattleCry\|VideoGame}}''
42	* ''VideoGame/{{Brink}}''
43	* ''VideoGame/CallOfCthulhuDarkCornersOfTheEarth''
44	* ''Franchise/{{Dishonored}}'' franchise:
45	** ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored}}''
46	** ''VideoGame/{{Dishonored 2}}''
47	** ''VideoGame/DishonoredDeathOfTheOutsider''
48	** ''VideoGame/{{Deathloop}}''
49	* ''Franchise/{{Doom}}'' franchise:
50	** ''VideoGame/Doom2016''
51	** ''VideoGame/DoomEternal''
52	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' franchise:
53	** ''The Elder Scrolls Travels''
54	*** ''Stormhold''
55	*** ''Dawnstar''
56	*** ''Shadowkey''
57	** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsOnline''
58	** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsLegends''
59	** ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsBlades''
60	* ''The Evil Within'' franchise:
61	** ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin''
62	** ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin2''
63	* ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'' franchise (acquired from Creator/InterplayEntertainment):
64	** ''VideoGame/FalloutShelter''
65	** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas''
66	* ''VideoGame/GhostwireTokyo''
67	* ''VideoGame/HiFiRush''
68	* ''VideoGame/HuntedTheDemonsForge''
69	* ''VideoGame/IndianaJonesAndTheGreatCircle''
70	* ''[[VideoGame/MaddenNFL John Madden Football (1988)]]''
71	* ''VideoGame/Prey2017''
72	* ''VideoGame/QuakeChampions''
73	* The ''Rage'' franchise:
74	** ''VideoGame/Rage2011''
75	** ''VideoGame/Rage2''
76	* ''VideoGame/{{Redfall}}''
77	* The ''VideoGame/SeaDogs'' franchise:
78	** ''Sea Dogs''
79	** ''Pirates of the Caribbean''
80	* ''VideoGame/TerminatorFutureShock''
81	* ''VideoGame/{{Wet}}''
82	* ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' franchise:
83	** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder''
84	** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheOldBlood''
85	** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinIITheNewColossus''
86	** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinYoungblood''
87	** ''VideoGame/WolfensteinCyberpilot''
88	* ''VideoGame/XCarExperimentalRacing''
89	[[/index]]
90
91	!!Non-gaming media produced by Bethesda:
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93	[[index]]
94	* ''WebAnimation/TheTalesFromDunwall''
95	* ''[[Literature/TheElderScrolls The Elder Scrolls Novels]]'':
96	** ''The Infernal City''
97	** ''Lord of Souls''
98	* ''Series/Fallout2024'' television series
99	[[/index]]
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101	!!Notable Bethesda Writers/Developers/Composers:
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103	[[index]]
104	* Creator/ToddHoward
105	* Creator/MichaelKirkbride
106	* Creator/JulianLeFay
107	* Music/JeremySoule
108	[[/index]]
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111	!!List of tropes common in Bethesda Game Studios' {{RPG}}s:
112	* AndTheAdventureContinues: Bethesda isn't a big fan of [[WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue epilogues]], and they instead prefer to let the player just [[PlayableEpilogue play past the ending]].
113	* AntiVillain: Several cases, but the most noteworthy examples are [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Dagoth Ur]], [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Ulfric Stormcloak, General Tullius,]] [[VideoGame/Fallout4 Conrad Kellogg, Father, and Elder Arthur Maxson]].
114	* ApocalypticLog: Justifiably common in their ''Fallout'' games given the setting, but the ''Elder Scrolls'' games also include plenty of examples.
115	* ArtifactTitle: The company was named after the city it was originally founded in, but has since moved its HQ to Rockville, MD.
116	* AuthorAppeal: Their games are littered with references to Creator/HPLovecraft, and they frequently draw inspiration from his works (such as the abundance of Eldritch Abominations found throughout their games).
117	* BlackAndGrayMorality: Bethesda leans on this trope quite a bit. For example, the Skyrim {{Civil War}} is rather morally ambiguous between [[AncientRome the Empire]] and [[HornyVikings the Stormcloaks]], but [[ANaziByAnyOtherName the Thalmor]] are universally presented in a negative light.
118	* BlackComedy: Numerous examples, but the [=S.P.E.C.I.A.L.=] videos for ''Fallout 4'' probably take the cake in the "cheerfully grim" department.
119	* BorrowingFromTheSisterSeries:
120	** After four main series games featuring a ClassAndLevelSystem, ''The Elder Scrolls series brought in a SkillScoresAndPerks system for ''Skyrim'', similar to what Bethesda's acquired ''Fallout'' series has featured since its inception.
121	** In the opposite direction, beginning with ''Fallout 3'' (Bethesda's first developed game in the series), Bethesda adopted the WideOpenSandbox approach of ''The Elder Scrolls'' to the formerly a top-down, [[TurnBasedCombat Turn-Based]] [[RolePlayingGame RPG]] ''Fallout'' series.
122	* BreakoutHit:
123	** ''Morrowind'' was this for them, both commercially and critically. Its success even saved them from bankruptcy.
124	** ''Skyrim'' and ''Fallout 4'' took them to another level as a major game studio, cementing Bethesda's status as a pillar of western gaming.
125	* CrapsackWorld: [[Franchise/TheElderScrolls Tamriel]] and [[Franchise/{{Fallout}} the North American Wasteland]] are ''not'' [[RunningGag okay places to live]]. This serves Bethesda's style of RPG very well, as it provides players with plenty of conflicts and crises to meddle in (for [[VideoGameCaringPotential better]] or for [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential worse]]).
126	* DeadpanSnarker: A trademark of their work is an abundance of sarcastic characters and dialogue, with ''Fallout 4'' even having a "Sarcastic" dialogue option in almost every dialogue tree.
127	* EldritchAbomination: The [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Princes]], [[DragonsAreDivine dragons]], and Ug-Qualtoth are just a ''few'' examples of these in their games.
128	* TheEpic: Both of their flagship series qualify, with the protagonists being extraordinary individuals (for their settings) pulling off exceptional feats with world-altering consequences. Bethesda also used this term specifically when introducing ''Starfield''.
129	* FantasticRacism: Their games often feature this trope. What's interesting is that Bethesda often more analyzes some of the real-world reasons behind racism - cultural imperialism, class divides, slavery, and lingering tensions over wars/invasions - rather than just trying to create "Racism is bad!" {{Aesop}}s.
130	** In ''Skyrim'', the three ideologies of nationalism, imperialism and fascism, which might get confused as being the same in simpler Aesops, are represented with three different factions at mortals odds with each other, and the fascist faction is the only one presented as completely evil.
131	* GreyAndGrayMorality: It varies per game, but ''Skyrim''[='s=] {{Civil War}} subplot over Talos worship and ''Fallout 4''[='s=] main questline concerning the Commonwealth & Synths both feature it most prominently.
132	* GuideDangIt: Given the sheer scale and content density of their games, this comes up quite often. It has actually become less common over time - Though of course, per the BrokenBase, many longtime fans see this as a ''bad thing'', and feel that their favorite series are being "dumbed down" for more casual gamers.
133	* HiddenDepths: Bethesda likes to make fascinating and flawed characters that usually reveal these over the course of the story just as much as they like making {{Bit Character}}s.
134	* HumongousMecha: The Numidium and Liberty Prime.
135	* MythologyGag: To other games they develop. For example, there's Porter Gage in ''Fallout 4: Nuka-World'' referring to Mirelurks as "Mudcrabs," animals found only in the ''Elder Scrolls.''
136	* PromotedFanboy:
137	** On a meta level - Most of Bethesda Game Studios are fans of the original ''Fallout'' games, and so they were thrilled when they eventually acquired the series.
138	** They have also gone on to hire some of the more talented {{game mod}}ders as developers for later games in the series, such as "Oscuro" from ''Oblivion'' and "Falskaar" from ''Skyrim''.
139	* RecurringElement: Each of ''Bethesda''[='s=] flagship properties - ''The Elder Scrolls'', ''Fallout'', and ''Starfield'' - despite the differences in the settings, shares a number of elements that makes them quickly recognizable as "Bethesda games". Beyond the similar game genres (WideOpenSandbox game worlds with WesternRPG elements veering into ActionRPG territory), you can expect ''massive'' game worlds which you can explore soon after starting. Count on LoadsAndLoadsOfSidequests, plus full blown [[SidequestSidestory Sidequest Sidestories]] in the form of "Faction" questlines, often nearly as expansive as the main quests themselves.
140	* RunningGag: [[SweetTooth Sweet rolls]], which originally started out in ''The Elder Scrolls'' (originally mentioned in the PlayerPersonalityQuiz in ''Arena'') and have since spread to ''Fallout'' and ''Starfield''.
141	* SceneryPorn: At the very least, [[TechnologyMarchesOn for the time they're released]], each of Bethesda's games have showcased absolutely gorgeous landscapes and worlds to explore.
142	* ShoutOut: They absolutely '''''love''''' to make references to [[Creator/HPLovecraft H.P. Lovecraft]] and the Cthulhu Mythos, with at least one reference showing up in every game they've developed.
143	* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Each game merrily hops back and forth along this line. Generally, the ''Elder Scrolls'' leans towards the cynical end while ''Fallout'' leans harder towards the idealistic end of the spectrum, [[HighFantasy despite how]] [[AfterTheEnd they look]].
144	* SlidingScaleOfLinearityVersusOpenness: They're pretty firmly on the latter end of the scale.
145	* SmallReferencePools:
146	** To the majority of people, Bethesda has two franchises: ''The Elder Scrolls'' and ''Fallout''. Fewer still realize that ''Fallout'' didn't originate with Bethesda.
147	** Within their flagship series, each new game tends to cause this effect, especially among younger audiences. It isn't uncommon for someone to have played ''Skyrim'' or ''Fallout 4'' without having even touched another game in their respective series.
148	* SpaceCompression: To an extreme degree due to the sheer size of the worlds portrayed in Bethesda's games. Large cities become [[ThrivingGhostTown small hamlets]] and small or medium-sized settlements turn into one or two buildings or disappear entirely.
149	* StoryBreadcrumbs: Bethesda prefers to supply {{World Building}} through delivering stories via background environmental details, readable notes and books, and (in the ''Fallout'' series) audio logs.
150	* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Not always, but their [=RPGs=] still tend to have many examples of these in each game.
151	* [[VideoGameCaringPotential Video Game Caring]]/[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential Cruelty Potential]]: Given their tendency to make their games as open as possible, there are plenty of opportunities for each.
152	* WelcomeToCorneria: While their games don't necessarily suffer from ''more'' of this, it's arguably more noticeable due to the huge scale they always shoot for in their games.
153	* WellIntentionedExtremist: A common trait of their {{Big Bad}}s as well as other lesser villains. Their end goal is often something that one can see as noble, though the methods they choose to get there are often morally repugnant. For example, there's [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind Dagoth Ur]] seeking to drive the Empire out of Morrowind, which is something even the honorable [[ProudWarriorRace Great House Redoran]] desires. However, his method of doing so involves creating a HumongousMecha powered by [[CosmicKeystone the heart of a dead god]] to spread TheCorruption around the world.
154	* WesternRPG: Every game they've made is one, often overlapping significantly with elements of the ActionRPG genre.
155	* WideOpenSandbox: One of the main sources of appeal in Bethesda's games is the ability to do practically anything the player wants to do in a massive open-world.
156	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Each game they make is full of cut content, much of which is often (at least attempted to be) filled back in by [[{{GameMod}} modders]].
157	* WhatMeasureIsAMook: It varies per game, but many games will at least try and help humanize the rank-and-file members of each faction (no matter their morality).
158	* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: This is more evident in ''Fallout,'' but this theme is rather obviously present in all of their games.

Context Creator / Bethesda