In a recent appearance on the Kinda Funny Gamescast, Todd Howard finally addressed the skepticism surrounding the studio’s slow development pace and dated tech. While Howard tried to frame things as an “evolution,” the reality for many fans remains a long wait for tools we have already seen before.
Creation Engine 3 is the Future for Elder Scrolls 6
One of the loudest complaints from fans is Bethesda’s refusal to move away from their proprietary engine. Howard confirmed that The Elder Scrolls VI will use Creation Engine 3. He describes this as an upgrade to the tech used in Starfield, specifically meant to handle better world systems and camera details. If you were hoping Bethesda would jump to something like Unreal Engine, this is your confirmation that they are doubling down on internal tools instead.
Howard also admitted that the 2018 reveal was basically a PR move. It was meant to signal to fans that single-player games weren’t dead after the messy Fallout 76 announcement. When asked for a release date, Howard said “not this week” and confirmed it is still going to be a while yet.
The “Boring” Starfield Admission
Howard admitted that “Starfield can be a boring game.” He blamed the nature of space exploration, noting it is harder to make that loop engaging compared to their past hits. Most interestingly, he admitted that if you already find the game boring, new content probably won’t change your mind. It is odd that he is only addressing this now, especially since an engaging gameplay loop is what makes a game work in the first place.
No Remakes and “Handcrafted” AI
Despite the industry being obsessed with remakes, Howard says he is “anti-remake.” He argued that the flaws and age of a game are part of its “personality.” It is hard to take him at his word here considering the Oblivion remaster just dropped last year. That remaster was a shadow drop that changed and added things modders already handled years ago. More importantly, it lacked official tools, which basically made all the old mods impossible to transfer.
On the topic of AI, Howard claimed Bethesda only uses it for “data analysis” rather than replacing human creativity. He insists “handcrafted human intention” is the priority, though he admitted they aren’t ignoring the tech entirely. After all these years, it remains difficult to believe a marketing guru when the actual product often tells a different story.
More Gaming News: If you want to see what else is coming to consoles besides Bethesda’s decade-long projects, you can check out my full breakdown of the State of Play February 2026.