Let me start by making one thing perfectly clear. No matter how many times you come across this news article on any number of websites today, it's worth reading the full interview with Pete Hines, rather than focusing completely on this one part of it. Because while there's a very good reason we're all reporting on something so turbulent, Hines' discussion with TheGamer's former editor-in-chief, Kirk McKeand, is wide-ranging and filled with more feel-good moments.
Apart from that? Yes. Hines doesn't mince words when it comes to the reasoning behind his departure. The former head of publishing at Bethesda Softworks had an extraordinarily fulfilling career with the creators of some of the greatest Western RPGs of all time, but his exit was quick, relatively unplanned, and speaks volumes for his perception of what Bethesda as a company is going through today.
“…And that shouldn't be a surprise to you”
Pete Hines left Bethesda a month after the launch of Starfield back in 2023. He had been with them since 1999. He was there for Morrowind, which breathed new life into a studio that was almost bankrupt. He was there when Oblivion won so many GOTY awards that the industry had to stand up and take notice. He was there when Fallout 3 kept the good times rolling, when Skyrim debuted to become a massive pop culture sensation that has eclipsed all but the shortest list of rival RPGs, and yes, he was there for Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and all the others.
The point is, if you think of Bethesda, and Todd Howard is the first face that comes to mind, there's a pretty good chance that Hines' handsome mug pops up second. But Hines — this is me reading between the lines, to be perfectly clear, but it's pretty hard not to come to this conclusion — seems to have taken considerable credit with how Bethesda has fared ever since the company (and the rest of its Zenimax overlord umbrella) was sold to Microsoft in 2021 for a cool $7.5 billion.
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“I stayed there because this place still needs me,” Hines told Kirk McKeand on the April 10 episode of Firezide Chat. “I just hit a yes, it needs me, and I'm powerless to do what I think needs to be done to run this place properly, to protect these people, to maintain what we've worked so hard to create, which is an incredibly efficient, well-run video game developer and publisher.” The past few years must have been tough, and while Hines doesn't mention Microsoft by name, it was a complete paradigm shift.
There was nothing quite like it throughout his entire history at Bethesda up to that point, and it's not hard to imagine a massive shift in output philosophy from that point forward. Only Todd Howard was exempt from the two-week notice that probably would have blindsided many of Hines' peers:
“I mean I gave two weeks' notice. I waited until after Starfield. I knew I was going the year before. Every time Todd delayed Starfield I thought, damn, I'm here for another eight months. And Todd was the only one who knew. That's another reason I love that man. He showed up for me when I was just at my wits end and got me out of there, and got me out of there, in a good way.”
“And when I couldn't protect it,” Hines lamented, “and I saw it destroyed and broken and frankly abused, abused, whatever word you want to use, I said 'I'm not going to sit here and watch this happen right in front of me.'” He had done “everything he can do,” Hines continued, but it was enough. His mental health was “deplorable” as a result of these seismic changes. Props to you for sticking around until Starfield left over the finish line, Pete.
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