Exclusive: Todd Howard's Personal Memo Reveals Astonishing Revelation About Starfield - Must Read!

Highlights

Bethesda Executive Producer Todd Howard recounts the long-awaited development of Starfield in a leaked internal memo, expressing gratitude to the teams involved.

The memo discloses that Starfield has been under development since 2013, receiving support from Robert A. Altman, the founder of ZeniMax Media, until his demise in 2021. Notwithstanding obstacles such as the global pandemic and Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda, Howard recognizes the assistance of Phil Spencer, the Head of Xbox, and the remaining Xbox leadership team in the memo.

Bethesda Executive Producer Todd Howard recently shared a heartfelt internal memo that was leaked online just days before the highly anticipated release of Starfield. The memo, which serves as a thank you to everyone involved in the game's development, highlights the long journey it has taken to bring Starfield to life.

Since the late 90s, Howard has repeatedly expressed Bethesda's desire to create a space-themed RPG. Despite securing the trademark for the game in 2013, development of Starfield did not begin until several years after the release of Fallout 4 in 2015.

An internal memo obtained by Windows Central has provided further insight into the events leading to the approval of Starfield by ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda. The memo, which was sent to various teams at Xbox, Microsoft, and Bethesda, begins with Howard recounting his initial pitch for Starfield to Robert A. Altman, the founder and former CEO of ZeniMax, in 2013. Despite initial concerns from Altman about the fact that Starfield would be Bethesda's first new intellectual property since The Elder Scrolls: Arena in 1996, he fully supported the idea by the end of Howard's presentation.

Howard also reflected on how Altman continued to support the project throughout the subsequent years, even though he did not live to see the final result of Bethesda's development efforts. Altman passed away in early 2021 at the age of 73. In addition to expressing gratitude towards Altman, Howard extended his thanks to Bethesda's development, publishing, and quality assurance teams, as well as the company's HR department, for their role in helping the studio overcome its most challenging period in its 37-year history.

The final phase of Starfield's development was a tumultuous period for Bethesda. First, there was the impact of the 2020 global pandemic, which disrupted the company's daily operations. This was followed by the passing of Altman and then the acquisition of Bethesda and ZeniMax Media by Microsoft in the following year. However, Microsoft took a hands-off approach to managing their recent purchase, allowing ZeniMax to continue operating independently instead of merging with Xbox Game Studios.

In an internal memo, Howard expressed gratitude to Xbox Head Phil Spencer for his unwavering support of Starfield and other titles within Microsoft's extensive portfolio. Howard, an industry veteran, stated that he couldn't think of a better environment for game development and emphasized the consistent support from the rest of the Xbox leadership team since the ZeniMax acquisition. Every employee who received the memo was also given a copy of Starfield's Premium Edition, granting them early access to the game starting from September 1.

Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Source: Windows Central