Latest / It Just Works! / #222 "Is Bethesda Finally Back on Track? Let's talk about it!"
Transcript
- 0:02[SPEAKER_00]: is the Steve Downs, the voice of Master Chief, Spartan 1-1-7, with an incoming message for Ryan Green and all, we'll listen to the podcast It Just Works, let's finish the fight.
- 0:19[SPEAKER_00]: Listen up, Chief, out.
- 0:25[SPEAKER_01]: Hello everyone and welcome to the AdjustWorks podcast.
- 0:27[SPEAKER_01]: I'm your host Ryan with an emergency episode that had to be recorded today.
- 0:30[SPEAKER_01]: I could not wait till Sunday plus Sunday's episode is going to be all about Halo campaign evolved before it comes out, which I'm so excited for and I would like to announce that for my birthday next week, I will be streaming Halo campaign evolved on TikTok live.
- 0:44[SPEAKER_01]: So please check it out, come hang out, show some love, maybe play the game with me too if you're buying it because it is co-op and crossplay.
- 0:51[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, today's episode is crazy, and I want to say thank you again for supporting the previous episode where I talk about all the Xbox layouts and what that means for us moving forward However today is crazy kind of just want to get straight into it.
- 1:05[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like there shouldn't be any buildup like let's go
- 1:07[SPEAKER_01]: So but that's the release essentially their road map moving forward after all the layoffs the studio adjustments and Basically OSHA Sharma and Xbox kind of reversing a lot of what Phil Spencer and crew did and it's not just solely him But there's obviously a lot of people who've made these decisions and now they are moving forward.
- 1:26[SPEAKER_01]: So
- 1:27[SPEAKER_01]: the best way to get through this is to read the entire note from Bethesda Game Studios with presumably taught Howard and crew.
- 1:33[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to go ahead and talk about that right now.
- 1:36[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm going to go ahead and read it just in case you're not familiar and we're kind of going to go over it with Starfield being last because it is included into this note.
- 1:43[SPEAKER_01]: But anyways,
- 1:45[SPEAKER_01]: A note from Bethesda Game Studios.
- 1:47[SPEAKER_01]: We love making these worlds as much as you love playing them.
- 1:50[SPEAKER_01]: Today we want to share what's next for Bethesda Game Studios as what you can expect from us in the years of a head.
- 1:56[SPEAKER_01]: For 40 years we've built games that have entertained almost half a billion players for more than just games these are worlds.
- 2:04[SPEAKER_01]: Worlds for you to explore, shape, and make your own worlds we return to together.
- 2:10[SPEAKER_01]: That's what's driving us forward.
- 2:12[SPEAKER_01]: We're investing more deeply in the world's players love, giving creators a bigger role in shaping their experiences, and bringing our teams closer together.
- 2:21[SPEAKER_01]: So we can get our games into your hands sooner, which obviously we kind of touched on the last episode.
- 2:27[SPEAKER_01]: Elder Scrolls has been missing a brand new entry that has nothing to do with the remake for 15 years and Fallout 4 has been the last mainline Fallout game aside from 76 for 11 years.
- 2:38[SPEAKER_01]: huge time gaps that are pretty much unacceptable for these massive franchises, so yeah, then when I continue to build them alongside us for decades to come
- 2:49[SPEAKER_01]: We'll start off with Starfield and maybe I'll touch on it later, but actually I'll just really get through it quickly.
- 2:54[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, Starfield continues with over 17 million players logging almost a billion hours to date.
- 2:59[SPEAKER_01]: Starfield remains an important part of our future.
- 3:02[SPEAKER_01]: As we enter year three, we'll continue expanding the settled systems with new stories, targeted gameplay improvements and additional updates while preparing for it.
- 3:10[SPEAKER_01]: The launch of a new Starborn content next year, more than 40% of players already customized.
- 3:18[SPEAKER_01]: Already customized their experiences and we'll continue investing in creators and giving players new ways to make Starfield their own.
- 3:25[SPEAKER_01]: Which I think is great.
- 3:28[SPEAKER_01]: You know, I think Starfield's like a 6.57 out of 10 game.
- 3:32[SPEAKER_01]: I just think the ending is a bummer.
- 3:35[SPEAKER_01]: I'm personally not a fan of it.
- 3:37[SPEAKER_01]: I think the game is definitely needed better performance at launch.
- 3:43[SPEAKER_01]: There's so much that's wrong with it in my opinion.
- 3:46[SPEAKER_01]: But there's also a lot that's good and certainly has it, but there's the charm.
- 3:49[SPEAKER_01]: So if you haven't played it in your game pass or it's on a deep scale, I recommend the game still.
- 3:55[SPEAKER_01]: And with creation, some of them are achievement friendly, so you can get added content from creators who have made them, but that gives payouts to that you can add more to your experience, which also allows you to get new weapons, armor, quest lines, and you can still earn achievements.
- 4:09[SPEAKER_01]: So it's pretty badass when you really think about it, especially if you're a trophy achievement person.
- 4:15[SPEAKER_01]: created by players.
- 4:16[SPEAKER_01]: We believe from the beginning that our worlds belong not only to the people who make them but also the people who play them.
- 4:22[SPEAKER_01]: That's why we've long provided players with the tools to create their own experiences, dating back to Moroan construction set, which I never even knew about.
- 4:30[SPEAKER_01]: That's really cool.
- 4:31[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I might have heard of it, but I don't remember.
- 4:33[SPEAKER_01]: This year marked another major milestone for creations, with its expansion to fall out for joining Skyrim and Starfield.
- 4:41[SPEAKER_01]: We're proud to say creators have already earned more than $10 million in royalties from their work.
- 4:47[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, you've heard it correctly, people who have made these creations, which are essentially mods, uh, official mods that have been put through.
- 4:53[SPEAKER_01]: That they've earned 10 million in royalties all together, which is great.
- 4:56[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, these are people who are passionate and now they're earning money for their hard work And giving us more content to keep games alive Which by the way, when it comes to Starfield It has a lot of issues in my opinion like I said, but I am happy that they're not giving up on it as they didn't give up on Fallout 76 because it's clearly turned the butt around
- 5:16[SPEAKER_01]: So the big one that we're talking about today, which is just such a big one, we'll probably spend a lot of time here if I'm being honest.
- 5:24[SPEAKER_01]: So buckle in, but I'm going to go ahead and read all of what Bethesda has to say and then kind of touch on each segment.
- 5:30[SPEAKER_01]: So it's called the future of Fallout.
- 5:32[SPEAKER_01]: Fallout is when the biggest priorities today, as Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects and active development right now.
- 5:41[SPEAKER_01]: Starting with the game we just talked about fallout 76 continues to be home to millions of players exploring Appalachia together with nearly 70 free updates released to date.
- 5:51[SPEAKER_01]: The journey is far from over.
- 5:53[SPEAKER_01]: In fact, we have a major Fallout 76 expansion plan for next year, Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3, which is cool.
- 6:01[SPEAKER_01]: It's going to be heavily on-clave-based.
- 6:04[SPEAKER_01]: The concept art for it looks sick.
- 6:07[SPEAKER_01]: I think Fallout 76 story content is really the way to go, which obviously adds more players playing it together, raids, and content that you can earn weapons, and new camps, new vaults to explore,
- 6:21[SPEAKER_01]: I think Skyline Valley is one of the best followed expansions and it's in 76, so if you haven't played Fallout 76 and you're not necessarily opposed to the game, but you obviously maybe played it at launch and it was terrible when it launched.
- 6:33[SPEAKER_01]: I would recommend playing Skyline Valley alone if that's really something you want to try out.
- 6:39[SPEAKER_01]: I cannot recommend it enough, especially if you're a die-hard Fallout fan.
- 6:43[SPEAKER_01]: I think Skyline Valley is just peak.
- 6:46[SPEAKER_01]: Please consider checking that out.
- 6:48[SPEAKER_01]: It's completely free if you either have the game or on the game pass or if you buy it on sale, which you can get it pretty cheap, even physically.
- 6:55[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I'm excited for Fallout 76 to get more expansion type content.
- 6:59[SPEAKER_01]: I think Burning Springs is good, but it's just missing like a whole layer of what Skyline Valley has and Skyline Valley has everything from.
- 7:09[SPEAKER_01]: you know NPCs, new weapons, armors, quest lines, characters, I already said NPCs but like creatures and just, there's so much going on, the whole terrain, the biome, I mean it's just sick, it's shit, I can go on about Skyline Valley all day.
- 7:24[SPEAKER_01]: I think I have a podcast episode about it too, the review of it, if I didn't, well then then shame on me.
- 7:30[SPEAKER_01]: Anyways moving on we got Fallout 4 the most award winning game in the franchise and it's just celebrating its 10 year anniversary and it recently passed over 35 million copies sold in its lifetime and it's continuing to attract a new audience every year and essentially that is true because there is no game to besides 76 and shelter to really piggyback off of the TV show success which has been tremendous right?
- 7:53[SPEAKER_01]: so fall out for anniversary launching around the TV show season two coming out it was definitely a good move.
- 7:59[SPEAKER_01]: It was very unfortunate though because I think that we should have got a fall out three remaster or a fall out five announcement trailer just just something.
- 8:06[SPEAKER_01]: I think them not capitalizing on the show more than they did is just a huge mistake and I never I don't think I'll ever understand it but something tells me that they might actually just be find the way they're doing things.
- 8:18[SPEAKER_01]: I have Fallout 4 on the Switch 2.
- 8:20[SPEAKER_01]: I've been very vocal in this podcast about how Fallout 4, my opinion, is not as good as 3 new Vegas or 76.
- 8:27[SPEAKER_01]: I got to admit after playing it on the Switch 2, pretty much at 40 frames per second, because I like it makes a good quality in performance.
- 8:35[SPEAKER_01]: And mostly handheld.
- 8:38[SPEAKER_01]: I got to tell you that game is badass on this switch to man It's so cool to play a follow game like that handheld.
- 8:45[SPEAKER_01]: I played all of far harbor not all of it But I played 15 hours of far harbor pretty much right out the gate
- 8:51[SPEAKER_01]: And I think it's a great time.
- 8:53[SPEAKER_01]: If you have a switch to me don't have Fallout 4 yet, please get it.
- 8:56[SPEAKER_01]: I know a lot of people are upset at the $60 price tag, which yeah, for a game as old as it is.
- 9:00[SPEAKER_01]: I think it could have been 50.
- 9:03[SPEAKER_01]: But it has already been on sale for I think $46, so definitely keep an eye on it.
- 9:07[SPEAKER_01]: If it hits $40, this is a package that's definitely worth getting.
- 9:10[SPEAKER_01]: Not only does it have basic creations content.
- 9:13[SPEAKER_01]: It has all of its original expansions and DLCs, like the robot stuff, a Tomatron.
- 9:17[SPEAKER_01]: You go world and then far-har, where which is one of my favorite expansions of all time.
- 9:22[SPEAKER_01]: So please consider checking it out if you haven't done so yet.
- 9:26[SPEAKER_01]: Moving along, we also have... We also know how many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences.
- 9:31[SPEAKER_01]: While we're not announcing any dates today, we've been officially working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, which we already knew about Fallout 3 and pretty much Vegas.
- 9:41[SPEAKER_01]: But it was never something that was blatantly just said like hey guys, like here's what's going on and I'm so glad that it's happening finally It's it's way long overdue, you know from the court documents basically revealing Bethesda's road map It's like they should have done something so I'm glad it's happening now I'm very excited to play these games again.
- 9:59[SPEAKER_01]: I think remasters are just
- 10:02[SPEAKER_01]: A genius, just an absolutely genius move for these games.
- 10:08[SPEAKER_01]: I was beginning to believe in Remaster on Switch 2.
- 10:11[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm assuming the two fallouts are coming.
- 10:15[SPEAKER_01]: Honestly, I just can't wait.
- 10:17[SPEAKER_01]: Pretty sick.
- 10:20[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, fallout remasters.
- 10:22[SPEAKER_01]: I think, or I'm sorry, Remakes.
- 10:24[SPEAKER_01]: It says Remasters, but I think Oblivion Remaster is a remake.
- 10:29[SPEAKER_01]: So, um, we'll see.
- 10:32[SPEAKER_01]: But anyways, this is incredible news.
- 10:33[SPEAKER_01]: I think there's so many new people that can enjoy a lot of these games and what they have to offer, especially after the TV show.
- 10:41[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm really excited to see people experience this for the first time, like my fiance alone.
- 10:45[SPEAKER_01]: Like, she's never played these games beyond a few minutes.
- 10:48[SPEAKER_01]: Especially since they're dated, so I'm really excited to check this out and kind of life-stream it and just kind of go over it in the podcast because new Vegas I never finished in Fallout 3.
- 10:58[SPEAKER_01]: I played the main quest and all that but I never played all the DLCs and I'm kind of like purposely waiting to play these games for that experience So yeah, very excited about that.
- 11:08[SPEAKER_01]: I know a lot of people are it's long overdue so it's like one of the worst kept secrets of all time so
- 11:15[SPEAKER_01]: This is huge.
- 11:15[SPEAKER_01]: And I think one of the things I'd like to touch on too is that, you know, the shadow drops are great, like I did the oblivion remaster.
- 11:26[SPEAKER_01]: I just think that leaving everyone in the dark though and drip feeding them or giving them nothing is just not a good move.
- 11:31[SPEAKER_01]: Like fans shouldn't be able to have some kind of expectation on when the next game is coming out and being shipped.
- 11:38[SPEAKER_01]: So I think this is a really good move on, but thus is part
- 11:44[SPEAKER_01]: essentially tight tightening management and just trying to get stuff back in order at the workplace so it is unfortunate timing in the way that it all came together but I do hope that the road is just light there's light at the end of the road so we'll see tunnel
- 12:00[SPEAKER_01]: Anyways, the fallout shelter continues to be the most popular way to experience fallout on the go.
- 12:05[SPEAKER_01]: With more than 250 million players, there's more ahead for fallout shelter, including new seasons, and unscripted fallout shelter television project is also in the works, with our partners at Amazon Studios and Kiltar Films.
- 12:18[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they're doing like a
- 12:20[SPEAKER_01]: A game show type of Fallout Shelter thing, which actually might be funny, but Fallout Shelter is really cool.
- 12:27[SPEAKER_01]: It's not The worst thing ever if you're bored on the phone, I guess, then yeah, you could check it out I guess there's not really a ton to commit to you can do quests and have your shelters It's definitely a game you can play for a little bit and then kind of move on so
- 12:43[SPEAKER_01]: I guess, uh, yeah.
- 12:45[SPEAKER_01]: Anyways, moving on, we'd like to congratulate filter films and Amazon Studios on the 10 Emmy nominations for Fallout Season 2 production on season three is already underway.
- 12:57[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, I think Fallout Season 2 was incredible.
- 12:59[SPEAKER_01]: I think it really matches with Fallout Season 1.
- 13:02[SPEAKER_01]: I think two seasons of this show are stunning.
- 13:05[SPEAKER_01]: I would hope that it gets a couple more, maybe one more, with Season 3.
- 13:09[SPEAKER_01]: We'll see how it plays out.
- 13:10[SPEAKER_01]: But I definitely hope that the show ties into Fallout 5.
- 13:13[SPEAKER_01]: I think that's the way to go.
- 13:17[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, it's a great TV show.
- 13:18[SPEAKER_01]: If you haven't watched it for whatever reason, which you probably have, please check it out.
- 13:23[SPEAKER_01]: And while we won't host the traditional fallout day broadcast this year, we're planning something special for Fallout's 30th anniversary in 2027, when Fallout Day will be celebrated live in Washington, D.C., Fallout 3 takes place in Washington, D.C., I'm pretty sure that means Fallout 3 remasters coming out that day, or that time period, we'll see.
- 13:45[SPEAKER_01]: Bye.
- 13:46[SPEAKER_01]: Something tells me it's happening.
- 13:47[SPEAKER_01]: Maybe you follow three remaster comes up before and then we get a new Vegas trailer that day and follow five trailer.
- 13:53[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
- 13:54[SPEAKER_01]: We'll see.
- 13:55[SPEAKER_01]: Next up, studio collaboration.
- 13:57[SPEAKER_01]: The wasteland continues to expand as we team up once again with our longtime friends at Obsidian Entertainment.
- 14:02[SPEAKER_01]: We're happy to confirm they're working with us on the new Fallout project and we'll have more to share in the future.
- 14:08[SPEAKER_01]: We're also bringing our teams closer together across Bethesda, Zinn and Max online studios will partner closely with the Thesda game studios on the Elder Scrolls franchise while continuing to deliver incredible new experiences for the Elder Scrolls online.
- 14:21[SPEAKER_01]: Season 1, Return of the Thieves Guild recently launched and the team is more planned for the future by aligning more directly across the franchise we can create even better experiences for players.
- 14:31[SPEAKER_01]: Bringing our teams closer together is helping us build a stronger
- 14:37[SPEAKER_01]: The Elder Scrolls and Beyond, although they're huge talking point for me, that foundation extends beyond our teams to technology, tools, systems, and tools, tools, and systems, excuse me, that will power the next generation of Bethesda RPGs.
- 14:53[SPEAKER_01]: Our teams are now developing the Elder Scrolls 6 and follow out 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch.
- 15:01[SPEAKER_01]: It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering and systems that define our games.
- 15:08[SPEAKER_01]: 5 is currently in pre-production, the eligible six is our primary development focus today with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise.
- 15:17[SPEAKER_01]: With over 665 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, excuse me, but we know it's been a very long wait for the sequel.
- 15:29[SPEAKER_01]: The next chapter is on the way, we're where we plan to be, excuse me, that was hard to read
- 15:36[SPEAKER_01]: Loving how it looks and playing it every day.
- 15:40[SPEAKER_01]: I've bought Skyrim on the 360, I think I bought the Legendary Edition for the 360.
- 15:45[SPEAKER_01]: I bought it on Steam, the original version, I think I bought the anniversary edition on Steam, something like that.
- 15:50[SPEAKER_01]: I bought the original Skyrim for the Switch 1 and then later the Skyrim anniversary edition for Switch 2, or I got it.
- 15:58[SPEAKER_01]: And I also bought Skyrim Special Edition.
- 16:01[SPEAKER_01]: I've gotten Skyrim like six times.
- 16:03[SPEAKER_01]: It's insane.
- 16:05[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, it's definitely sold 65 million copies.
- 16:08[SPEAKER_01]: Skyrim until this day, especially on my switch to with the upgrades to 60 frames per second that's almost perfect.
- 16:15[SPEAKER_01]: As I've mentioned before, I wish the draw distance was better, so like bushes and trees loading in.
- 16:20[SPEAKER_01]: Um, yeah, I mean, I till his day, I think Skyrim's an amazing game definitely dumb down for a broader audience, uh, which Alex, you know, who's been on the podcast before it's talked about and he's touched on that subject.
- 16:31[SPEAKER_01]: Uh, so I'm hoping that I'll just roll six is like a blend of like mainstream, but hard core at the same time.
- 16:38[SPEAKER_01]: And I think that that does a can actually pull that off, but uh, only only time will tell.
- 16:44[SPEAKER_01]: The road ahead.
- 16:45[SPEAKER_01]: Across Bethesda game studios we're building for the future of fallout, the eldest roles in Starfield.
- 16:49[SPEAKER_01]: We're investing in our technology, bringing teams closer and supporting live games.
- 16:53[SPEAKER_01]: Expanding into new forms of entertainment and developing the next generation of Bethesda RPGs, we couldn't be more excited for what's ahead and wanted to share as much as we could today.
- 17:03[SPEAKER_01]: We can't thank you enough for all you've given us and these worlds.
- 17:07[SPEAKER_01]: And we can't wait to continue them together.
- 17:10[SPEAKER_01]: So that's the end of, but that's an amazing note, long overdue.
- 17:15[SPEAKER_01]: If they're not out of the woods yet, they still have to, you know, produce on these promises.
- 17:22[SPEAKER_01]: I am very excited.
- 17:23[SPEAKER_01]: I can't deny it, but I am cautiously optimistic as my friend Brandon would say.
- 17:27[SPEAKER_01]: Shout out to him.
- 17:30[SPEAKER_01]: I do think that, you know,
- 17:35[SPEAKER_01]: It's too soon.
- 17:35[SPEAKER_01]: It's too soon.
- 17:36[SPEAKER_01]: They need a deliver on it.
- 17:37[SPEAKER_01]: We need to get like fall out three-shiped I believe in remaster is coming to the switch to we need to see more updates in 76 I think more stability updates too to all their games that are live now like we need to see more consistency I think and I think this is what they mean to so I'm hoping that happens
- 17:53[SPEAKER_01]: I think one of the things that I'm really hoping for with the machine games and obviously I need to finish the game still is Indiana Jones.
- 18:01[SPEAKER_01]: So far, I've actually given it a shot since I bought it on the Switch 2 and I love the game.
- 18:07[SPEAKER_01]: I really hope that it gets a sequel, I don't know how far I am in it, but yeah, I don't know.
- 18:13[SPEAKER_01]: It's pretty crazy.
- 18:15[SPEAKER_01]: I hope that other games are still getting a lot of love at but that's the studios.
- 18:18[SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I wanted to make a quick episode and kind of talk about this and share my thoughts.
- 18:23[SPEAKER_01]: Again, my thoughts are, I'm excited as hell.
- 18:26[SPEAKER_01]: I think this is great.
- 18:27[SPEAKER_01]: It just works.
- 18:28[SPEAKER_01]: What's up?
- 18:29[SPEAKER_01]: 16 times the detail, Dodd.
- 18:31[SPEAKER_01]: I really wish the teams the best, though.
- 18:33[SPEAKER_01]: I hope that they're able to deliver the games they truly want in a timely manner.
- 18:38[SPEAKER_01]: that we get some kind of consistency from Bethesda moving forward.
- 18:42[SPEAKER_01]: It's definitely been unacceptable for the last decade, and they are one of the top studios for a reason.
- 18:46[SPEAKER_01]: One of my favorites for a reason, obviously, my podcast name is just playing fun of them.
- 18:51[SPEAKER_01]: Boking fun of them, but yeah, I'm really excited to see what happens next.
- 18:56[SPEAKER_01]: Again, play Fallout 76, play ESO, you know, put your money where you're about this to, don't buy anything you don't want to, or buy something because you want to.
- 19:05[SPEAKER_01]: You know, that's the best way to support or show your lack of interest in these companies is being consistent with yourself.
- 19:12[SPEAKER_01]: So, yeah, there's a lot of good stuff to enjoy out there, but if it's not your cup of TI, totally understand.
- 19:17[SPEAKER_01]: But let me know what your thoughts are.
- 19:18[SPEAKER_01]: Does this note do anything for you?
- 19:20[SPEAKER_01]: Are you still completely irritated with Bethesda and Xbox as a whole?
- 19:24[SPEAKER_01]: or you excited for the future.
- 19:26[SPEAKER_01]: I'd love to hear what your guys' thoughts are.
- 19:28[SPEAKER_01]: I appreciate you so much for listening as always.
- 19:30[SPEAKER_01]: Please consider subscribing, following on social media, it's just first podcast.
- 19:34[SPEAKER_01]: Leaving a review on these podcast platforms, it helps us grow.
- 19:38[SPEAKER_01]: It allows me to reach a broader audience and hopefully this becomes even more successful down the road.
- 19:43[SPEAKER_01]: But thank you guys so much.
- 19:44[SPEAKER_01]: I hope you have a great weekend.
- 19:46[SPEAKER_01]: I will see you on the next episode.
- 19:47[SPEAKER_01]: Talking about Halo before it comes out.
- 19:50[SPEAKER_01]: I am so excited and that's it.
- 19:52[SPEAKER_01]: So have a good day.
- 19:54[SPEAKER_01]: and PUSH!