In a recent interview, Heather Cerlan, Starfield artist and current CEO of NEARstudios, revealed that Bethesda faced an intense internal discussion about the possibility of switching from their Creation Engine to Unreal Engine 5.
The pressure to opt for Epic Games’ engine was considerable, especially after the impressive features like Nanite and Lumen that were introduced in UE5. However, Bethesda ultimately decided to continue with the Creation Engine, which was updated to version 2 for Starfield, due to its robust modding capabilities.
In Bethesda, they decided to continue trusting their engine
The mod community that has developed around the Creation Engine has been fundamental to the success of Bethesda’s titles. Cerlan emphasized that this community has been key to the maintenance and expansion of their games, which makes switching engines not very sensible.
Despite this, various former employees have divided opinions on the convenience of staying with the Creation Engine. Nate Purkeypile, a former artist at Bethesda, has expressed his belief that switching to Unreal Engine 5 could have allowed for better development, arguing that the experience of working with the Creation Engine is akin to “being on a train while laying down the tracks.”
On the other hand, Bruce Nesmith, who worked at Bethesda for nearly two decades, points out that changing engines is a huge effort that could delay the game’s production. According to Nesmith, the advantages of a transition to Unreal Engine 5 would not materialize quickly, and it could require a year or more of technical work before the studio would benefit from such a change.
Finally, Todd Howard has confirmed that Bethesda is improving the Creation Engine for The Elder Scrolls VI and other future projects, noting a return to the classic RPG formula that has characterized their most successful games. With this, Howard addresses the criticism towards some recent releases, promising an experience that is more true to what fans have been expecting.
