Ex-Bethesda Dev Comments on Potential Morrowind Remake

Previous Elder scrolls developer Bruce Nesmith has commented on whether he believes a Morrowind remake may work for Bethesda in the future. Nesmith takes a more pessimistic view of one Morrowind remake, claims that the classic Elder scrolls the game “would not stand the test of time” if given Oblivion treatment.

Morrowind launched in 2002 for PC and Xbox. The game was a huge success for Bethesda and gave a huge boost to its reputation among the top RPG developers in the industry at the time. In the years since, calls have intensified from fans for one Morrowind remake or remaster, which would allow players to enjoy the RPG while bringing it into the modern era with a new coat of paint. These conversations only increased when Bethesda released Oblivion remastered last year, as it showed that the developer wasn't averse to revisiting and modernizing its older titles. However, the studio has remained radio silent on the possibility of one Morrowind remake.

Former Bethesda Dev Says Morrowind's Remake Wouldn't Hold Up

Speaking to Press Box PR, ex Elder scrolls and Fall-out developer Bruce Nesmith was pessimistic about Bethesda's chances of revisiting Morrowind in the future. “The problem with making Morrowind is I bet they don't have the original code. The game is so old. I don't know if the original source code exists anymore. If it does, can you even compile it?” Nesmith explained. “The other thing I would say is go back and play Morrowind and tell me it's the game you want to play again. We have all these fond memories of things that were defining moments in our gaming fantasy stories that we absolutely move on, but you go back and play a 20-year-old game and you're going to cringe.”

Talking to an NPC in The Elder Scrolls 3 Morrowind

Nesmith explained his approach further, noting that “People even had cringe-worthy moments with the Oblivion remake but they forgave it because they're reliving something, they're enjoying the nostalgia… The further back you go, the more of a problem it's going to be. The reality of playing Morrowind wouldn't stand the test of time, in my opinion.” The developer, who was the design lead Skyrimbrings up an interesting point. Also with Oblivion remasteredBethesda had to make several changes to modernize the game in a way that kept it fun. The quirks were still there, but some elements had to be fundamentally changed. These changes were widely praised by fans, indicating that Bethesda made the right decision.

…go back and play Morrowind and say it's the game you want to play again.

This ultimately comes down to if any potential new version of Morrowind would be a remaster or a remake. A remaster in style Oblivion remastered would almost certainly suffer from these aging mechanics, which, as Nesmith says, may not hold up these days. But a Morrowind remake would give Bethesda the runway to make extensive overhauls, unfettered by the limitations of the original game. Likewise, this completely changes the scope of a potential project like this, which Bethesda may not be willing to pursue given its busy schedule right now.

Nesmith also mentioned the possibility of remaking Bethesda Morrowind in Skyrim engine, describing it as “a completely different story… It's a full four-year development cycle. Why not go and do something new?” Fortunately, talented modders are already on the case. Skywind is many years in the making, and while it doesn't have a release window at this point, it could be the closest gamers will ever get to an actual Morrowind remake.

Instead of focusing its efforts on revisiting older titles, it seems that Bethesda is now all-in on the development of The Elder Scrolls 6. First announced in 2018, the game has really kept fans in suspense, with very few Elder rolls 6 development updates over the years since. It's been a few years since the studio was released Starfieldso the hope is that Bethesda is deep into development, while just keeping their cards close to their chest.