Hard Mode

We are aware of stolen hardware and take these reports very seriously and understand the frustration of affected exhibitors. Since many requests reached us, we would like to inform about general security regulations at the event: Uniformed guards provide general security across the venue. Individual stand security can be booked separately, and exhibitors are advised to insure equipment against theft. This is noted in the terms and conditions of participation and the technical guidelines. All cases have been reported to us and to the police, and investigations are already underway. We also want to ensure that the reported cases are individual cases, which we are very sorry to read. Because security has one of the highest priorities to us as an event and to see that indie developers are affected makes us very sad. At an event of this size, however, there will always be individuals attempting to take advantage of the situation. Our security measures are designed to minimize such risks as effectively as possible.

We've seen a lot of guesses of what the the stars representing the subtitle of The Elder Scrolls VI stand for, and we have a lot of guesses ourselves. Here are some possibilities, assuming the eight stars were a hint it'll be eight letters: Sentinel Orsinium Balfiera Dominion Covenant Numidium Iliac Bay (assuming spaces don't count) High Rock Starfall Landfall Eltheric Aldmeris

A NOTE FROM BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS We love making these worlds as much as you love playing in them. Today, we want to share what's next for Bethesda Game Studios and what you can expect from us in the years ahead. For forty years, we've built games that have entertained almost half a billion players. More than just games, these are worlds. Worlds for you to explore, shape, and make your own. Worlds we return to together. That's what's driving us forward. We're investing more deeply in the worlds players love, giving creators a bigger role in shaping their experiences, and bringing our teams closer together so we can get our games into your hands sooner, support them longer, and continue building them alongside you for decades to come. STARFIELD CONTINUES With over 17 million players logging almost a billion hours to date, Starfield remains an important part of our future. As we enter Year 3, we'll continue expanding the Settled Systems with new stories, targeted gameplay improvements, and additional updates, while preparing for the launch of new Starborn content next year. More than 40% of players already customize their experience through Creations, and we'll continue investing in creators and giving players new ways to make Starfield their own. CREATED BY PLAYERS We've believed from the beginning that our worlds belong not only to the people who make them, but also to the people who play them. That's why we've long provided players with the tools to create their own experiences, dating back to the Morrowind Construction Set. This year marked another major milestone for Creations with its expansion to Fallout 4, joining Skyrim and Starfield. We're proud to say Creators have already earned more than $10 million in royalties from their work. THE FUTURE OF FALLOUT Fallout is one of our biggest priorities today. Fallout 5 remains our long-range destination, and we have multiple Fallout projects in active development right now. Fallout 76 continues to be home to millions of players exploring Appalachia together. With nearly 70 free updates released to date, the journey is far from over. In fact, we have a major Fallout 76 expansion planned for next year: Raven Rock, a prequel story to Fallout 3. Fallout 4, the most award-winning game in the franchise, just celebrated its 10-year anniversary and recently passed over 35 million copies sold, continuing to attract a new audience every year. We also know many players want to revisit previous Fallout experiences. While we're not announcing any dates today, we have been working on remasters for both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. Fallout Shelter continues to be the most popular way to experience Fallout on the go, with more than 250 million players. There’s more ahead for Fallout Shelter, including new Seasons. An unscripted Fallout Shelter television project is also in the works with our partners at Amazon Studios and Kilter Films. We'd like to congratulate Kilter Films and Amazon Studios on the 10 Emmy nominations for Fallout Season 2. Production on Season 3 is already underway. And while we won't host a traditional Fallout Day broadcast this year, we're already planning something special for Fallout's 30th anniversary in 2027, when Fallout Day will be celebrated live in Washington, D.C. STUDIO COLLABORATION The wasteland continues to expand as we team up once again with our longtime friends at Obsidian Entertainment. We're happy to confirm they're working with us on a new Fallout project. We'll have more to share in the future. We're also bringing our teams closer together across Bethesda. ZeniMax Online Studios will partner closely with Bethesda Game Studios on The Elder Scrolls franchise, while continuing to deliver incredible new experiences for The Elder Scrolls Online. Season One: Return of the Thieves Guild recently launched, and the team has more planned for the future. By aligning more directly across the franchise, we can create even better experiences for players. Bringing our teams closer together is helping us build a stronger foundation for everything we create next. THE ELDER SCROLLS AND BEYOND That foundation extends beyond our teams to the technology, tools, and systems that will power the next generation of Bethesda RPGs. Our teams are now developing The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 on Creation Engine 3, a shared technology platform we've been building since Starfield's launch. It allows our teams to support multiple projects simultaneously with new tools, rendering, and systems that define our games. Fallout 5 is currently in preproduction. The Elder Scrolls VI is our primary development focus today, with the majority of our team currently working on the next chapter of the franchise. With over 65 million copies sold, players are still exploring Skyrim 15 years later, but we know it’s been a very long wait for the sequel. The next chapter is on the way. We’re where we planned to be, loving how it looks, and playing it every day. THE ROAD AHEAD Across Bethesda Game Studios, we're building for the future of Fallout, The Elder Scrolls, and Starfield. We're investing in our technology, bringing teams closer together, supporting our live games, 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. We can’t thank you enough for all you’ve given to us and these worlds. And we can’t wait to continue them together. –Bethesda Game Studios

Unfortunately I don't trust any PR statement that comes out for any studio under the Microsoft umbrella anymore. More layoffs are to come over the next 12 months. Microsoft could just come along and close the studio during that time. Two other things to keep in mind as well. 1. ID Software has lost a lot of institutional knowledge now and that will impact the output and quality of their games going forward. 2. I expect the morale to be soul crushingly low, devs aren't going to work at their best after a huge amount of their friends and colleagues were shown the door. I could easily imagine a scenario where a number of the remaining devs are secretly applying elsewhere cause they don't want to work for Microsoft anymore.

Getting more details on the Xbox layoffs from a new source that got laid off at ZeniMax Media. There are a LOT more people who got laid off across ZeniMax than previously thought if their info is correct. Will update with specifics when possible.

Bloomberg: Obsidian Entertainment cancels planned Avowed sequel and pivots to new Fallout title, led by New Vegas director Josh Sawyer ➡️ bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

New reports indicate that half of the team working on The Elder Scrolls Online has been laid off, leaidng many to wonder how the game will continue. bit.ly/4y67Yfd

This is what happens when you get "lazy." I know people like Fallout 76, but when you get comfortable as a studio just releasing the bare minimum when it comes to updates for a live service game, your higher ups may wonder why they spent the money on you in the first place. The executives at Bethesda are among the pettiest people I have dealt with in the industry. They play favorites, hold down people they don't like, and bully you as a content creator if you post things they "don't like." I have a DM from a community manager asking me to delete several tweets simply because "some in management saw it and weren't too happy." It brings me great joy that Bethesda is getting a fire lit under their ass. They have dragged out the new Elder Scrolls, mishandled the Fallout series, and their newest IP, Starfield, was widely panned as slop. Get your shit together, you ain't Rockstar and your reputation is failing these days spectacularly.