Starfield lead developer departs Bethesda to head a new open-world horror RPG
Will Shen, Starfield’s lead quest designer has announced his impending departure from Bethesda for Something Wicked Games studio and other industry veterans from Bioware and Obsidian. He plans on joining them there.
Bethesda held him responsible for crafting some of Fallout 3’s most engaging quests and working on other titles since then, including Black Ops 4. According to Shen, his new position will “bridge the gap between its narrative and design teams.
Shen elaborated, saying one key factor of what makes triple-A role-playing games truly compelling is when they feel like the game has some sort of clear direction.” As Somethine Weird will debut with Wyrdsong as her initial RPG release it would fit nicely within open world RPG genre combining dark fantasy elements, real world myths and historic horror.
Shen will work alongside Bethesda veteran Jeff Gardiner. Gardiner served Bethesda for 15 years as lead producer on Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fallout 4 expansion projects; so their two collaboration is sure to prove fruitful in creating their new endeavor.
Shen will find plenty of Lovecraftian horror in his debut RPG game if the announcement trailer is any indicator. We do not yet have much information regarding its gameplay beyond RPG roots and Gardiner has commented previously about making “this game available to as many people as humanly possible”, although concrete details won’t emerge for some time yet.
Beyond what was shown at Gamescom Opening Night Live, it remains unknown if this title will be turn-based, an ARPG or have MMO features. We can only hope that more information becomes available in 2024.
