Starfield Wasn’t Universally Beloved As It Was Too Different, Says Todd Howard

Expert Verified By

Todd Believes Fans Wanted More Fallout/Elder Scrolls Gameplay!

Story Highlight
  • Todd Howard has addressed the fan feedback after Starfield’s release.
  • He believes many negative opinions stem from players wanting an experience closer to Fallout or Elder Scrolls.
  • The director wants each Bethesda franchise to have its own identity.

A major point in Starfield’s marketing campaign was that it was Bethesda’s first new IP in over two decades. The team was already setting expectations years before launch, hoping to prepare fans for a sci-fi experience.

Last year, the game launched with mostly positive reviews, but fans began to dislike many of Bethesda’s decisions over time. It seems Todd Howard has already figured out why this happened, citing Starfield’s different approach compared to Fallout or The Elder Scrolls as the main culprit.

Why it matters: This title has received its fair share of criticism since its launch, with many conversations around it being entirely negative in 2024.

Speaking to Kinda Funny, Todd Howard discussed the many lessons Bethesda learned after releasing its latest RPG.

When addressing the critical reception and fan feedback, he was ecstatic that most reviews landed in the 90s. However, the director did not ignore feedback coming from Bethesda loyalists.

He believes fans had already set an expectation for the RPG. They wanted a large world and the ability to explore it to their liking. Howard reckons fans were looking for another Fallout or Elder Scrolls-like experience.

He asserted that fans have every right to prefer such an experience, but Bethesda had certain goals for a sci-fi game. This entailed exploring all planets, landing on them, and more.

The content is different than you’ve seen from us in the past. Each of the franchises should be its own thing.

-Todd Howard

The director certainly raises a valid point. However, many Starfield players had the exact opposite complaint.

On more than one occasion, the RPG was criticized for sticking too closely to Bethesda’s old design, with elements like frequent loading screens, an ancient NPC conversation camera, and more detracting from the overall experience.

Fortunately, fans are still quite fond of Bethesda’s work if the recent interest in Fallout is anything to go by. The studio just needs to modernize its biggest strengths successfully for a more refined formula.

Starfield
Starfield Continues To Improve With Each New Update

Following months of feedback, Bethesda is introducing 60FPS gameplay to Starfield on Xbox Series X. The RPG will also debut vehicles for traversal on land, directly addressing two of the biggest criticisms.

Since September 2023, the developer has made remarkable progress. With the development of The Elder Scrolls 6 in full swing, this feedback should prove critical in ensuring Bethesda avoids retreading similar errors for what could be its biggest game to date.

Was our article helpful? 👨‍💻

Thank you! Please share your positive feedback. 🔋

How could we improve this post? Please Help us. 😔

Gear Up For Latest News

Get exclusive gaming & tech news before it drops. Sign up today!

Join Our Community

Still having issues? Join the Tech4Gamers Forum for expert help and community support!

Latest News

Join Our Community

104,000FansLike
32,122FollowersFollow

Trending

Fallout New Vegas Director Finds Lack of Difficulty Options Annoying, Says Games Should Support All Players

Fallout New Vegas director says video games should offer a wider range of difficulty options and is annoyed when a game lacks options.

Outriders 2 Is One of the Two People Can Fly’s Canceled Games, Fans Call It Square Enix Curse

It has recently been revealed that one of the two cancelled games from developer People Can Fly is Outriders 2.

Sega To Focus On Global Market Instead Of Japanese-First Approach For A Strong Comeback, President Confirms

Sega president Shuji Utsumi has confirmed that the company is adopting a more modern global focus approach to become a behemoth once again.

Fans Claim Game Pass Quality Has Significantly Improved In 2025 Compared To Last Year

Fans claim that the Game Pass value has significantly improved in 2025 compared to last year, with some stating they no longer purchase games.

Colorful Launches iGame GeForce RTX 5050 Series with Unique Designs

Colorful releases the GeForce RTX 5050 Series with three different variants, powered by NVIDIA Blackwell and DLSS 4.