But thats exactly what that was. It was not made by the A team that alternates between Fallout and Skyrim. That team made Fallout 4 and moved on to Starfield pretty much right away. I am sure there was some crossover and they helped out with the quest design, but the main team and all the big leads has been making Starfield.
Yes, Skyrim came out in 2011 but that team has only released one game since. Fallout 5 which wasnt their best effort and yet still finished second in GOTY awards behind Witcher 3.
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - 280
- Media Outlets: 186 | Readers' Choice: 94
- Fallout 4 - 64
- Media Outlets: 46 | Readers' Choice: 18
- Bloodborne - 33
- Media Outlets: 25 | Readers' Choice: 8
Bioware and Bethesda arent even remotely comparable. Bethesda has been the IT studios for a good two decades now. Hell, even Guerrilla Games had a bomb with Killzone Shadowfall before they turned things around. SSM had GoW Ascension. From Software had Dark Souls 2 just this past decade.
Not sure what your point is about Dark Souls 2, because it actually got great review scores, if you go look. Just because it's regarded as the worst in the series by many, that didn't make it a bad game compared to the rest of the industry the year it launched.
I know it's a Bethesda favorite commentary to act like BGS Maryland had very little to do with the game, but literally every major player from Maryland can be found in the credits for Fallout 76. It's just pure revisionist history to try and act like Todd & Co were mere sideline players on that game. Go watch the NoClip doc, and you'll see 90% BGS Maryland employees talking about the game. It's simply not factual to act as though it was mostly Austin's problems that were to blame. You could tell in pre- launch interviews that Todd Howard had NO IDEA how to design an MMOish type online game, and when it launched, it showed.
Also, consider what Pete Hines said in 2018. He said that the launch dates for BGS would be along the same lines as it had been for years. Starfield matches up, observe:
Fallout 3 2008
Skyrim 2011, 3 years dev cycle
Fallout 4 2015, 4 years dev cycle
Fallout 76 2018, 3 year dev cycle
Starfield 2022, 4 year dev cycle
TES VI 2025-26, 3-4 year dev cycle
See how the timeline goes, by Bethesda's own gameplan? Sorry, but "it's Austin's fault" is a myth that's been spread by Bethesda fans