At the recent E3 event, Bethesda first revealed that Fallout 76 will be their first venture into multiplayer within that particular franchise - this announcement was met with mixed reception.
Many seemed to believe that this revelation meant that Bethesda was giving up the single-player role-playing experience - of which the studio is renowned for - and shifting focus to online-only, multiplayer role-playing games.
In a recent interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Howard revealed that this assumption was in fact false. The studio head pointed out that Bethesda is already in the business of making multiplayer games and that while their upcoming Fallout title may be their most monumental venture into that subgenre, it isn't indicative of where the studio is headed.
Here's what Howard had to say:
It doesn't mark the future. Corporately we've done a mix; people forget sometimes. Elder Scrolls Online is one of the biggest online games in the world, we have Fallout Shelter which we keep updating and Elder Scrolls: Legends.
Howard went on to explain that Bethesda has always been in the business of games as a medium rather than a of a particular sub-section of games:
Anyone who has ever said 'this is the future and this part of gaming is dead' has been proven wrong every single time. We like to try it all. For a long time we wanted to try a multiplayer game and we had this idea. We shouldn't be afraid. We should try it.
So, thankfully, there's nothing to worry about. Bethesda will continue to pump their trademarked and beloved singleplayer experiences.
What do you think about Howard's comments? Would you like to see Bethesda explore even more new avenues?