What are Bethesda working on - A look at their studios
Bethesda is one of the publishers that almost everyone knows, they have some of the biggest names in games right now, Elder Scrolls, Doom, Fallout, Wolfenstein and they are ushering in a new wave as well.
With 2022 seeing the release of Ghostwire Tokyo and Redfall, as well as Starfield to wrap up the year and perhaps even an Indiana Jones title, there is a lot to look forward to from the publisher, so lets dive right in.
Alpha Dog Games
Series known to them: Mighty Doom
Bethesda picked up this small mobile developer a few years ago, not long after they released MonstroCity: Rampage, since then the team had been quiet, but last year they launched Mighty Doom, a new take on the classic Doom series.
Given that the game launched into some markets last year and will continue to roll out this year, there is little chance of a new game coming from the studio this year, but if you haven’t had the chance to play Mighty Doom, I suggest you give it a go, it is good fun.
Arkane Studios Lyon
Series known to them: Dishonored, Deathloop
Apart from the studio having a fascination with games starting with the letter D, Arkane Lyon won’t have a game released this year, given that Deathloop just launched last year on PlayStation 5 and PC.
There is a chance that Deathloop will release onto the Xbox platform this year, for two reasons, the first is that they are owned by Microsoft, so getting more games on their platform makes sense and the second just depends on how long the console exclusivity deal was with PlayStation, but outside of that, nothing new is expected from the French arm of Arkane
Arkane Studios Austin
Series known to them: Prey, Redfall
The Austin branch of Arkane were the lead developer on Dishonored 2, but the work was shared equally with Lyon, since then though, they shipped Prey, which gained well deserved acclaim, but that released back in 2017 and while the studio did help with some Wolfenstein projects, they have been quiet.
That will change this year, as long as there are no delays as Redfall is due to release for both Xbox Series X|S and PC, sometime around the middle of the year, but apart from that reveal trailer last year, we haven’t heard anything else on the game since.
Bethesda Game Studios
Series known to them: The Elder Scrolls series, Fallout series, Starfield
This is the main development studio for Bethesda, it is the one that allowed them to continually grow, year after year and while the last title that this team shipped was Fallout 4, they have been working hard with Fallout 76 and of course Starfield.
With Starfield dated for November 11, at least at the time of writing, there is little chance we will get anything else form them this year, but they have released a few mobile titles before, so anything is technically possible, just unlikely at this time.
Bethesda Game Studios Austin
Series known to them: Fallout 76
Best known as the lead developer for Fallout 76 and by that I mean doing the work, the Austin branch of BGS is going to remain committed to Fallout 76 content for the year, they completed a few storylines last year, so anything releasing this year, is going to be all new.
Bethesda Game Studios Dallas
Series known to them: Starfield
One of the more recent studios to convert to the BGS name, the Dallas branch tends to be more of a supportive studio for the other ones, though current reports have them working on development for Starfield, alongside the main studio.
Given their limited size and current focus, anything else from them this year is unlikely.
Bethesda Game Studios Montreal
Series known to them: Elder Scrolls series
While Montreal is one of the game development centres of the world, the BGS studio there is mostly a sister studio for the main office, so anything that they work on there is tied back to the lead studio. They are currently helping with Starfield development and are not expected to release anything else this year.
id Software
Series known to them: Doom series, Wolfenstein series, Rage series
As the creators of the first-person shooter genre, id Software has had time over the years to create a large amount of titles, their most recent being 2020’s DOOM Eternal. While last year saw the second of the DLC’s ship for the game and a few updates, they have been quiet on mainline development of whatever is next.
The studio also created Wolfenstein, but that is now handled by MachineGames and while Rage 2 was a great game, much like the first, it didn’t set the charts on fire, so there is no word on Rage 3. While the main studio is in Texas, they do have a sister studio in Germany, who tend to focus on technology more than games, leaving the main studio to focus on game creation. It is unlikely that we will get a new game from them this year, though a teaser for whatever is next could happen.
MachineGames
Series known to them: Wolfenstein series, Indiana Jones
MachineGames made their name when they released Wolfenstein: The New Order back in 2014 and with that success, Bethesda quickly snapped them up, since then the studio has been working on the series, bringing The Old Blood, New Colossus, Youngblood and Cyberpilot to players, all of which were well received.
Their next title is going to be an Indiana Jones game, and while it was announced a year ago, there is no confirmation that it will release this year, mostly because we haven’t seen anything on it since. With Redfall, Ghostwire Tokyo and Starfield also out this year, there might be a desire to not bloat their lineup to much and give the developers more time.
Roundhouse Studios
Series known to them: Nothing yet…
One of the more recent members to join the Bethesda family, Roundhouse Studios hasn’t shipped a game yet, but when they were Human Head Studios, they had a dozen under their belt. Before the name change, there were reports of them working on a third person shooter, that was PvPvE and based on a major comic licence, but since the name change we have no idea what is going on with that.
Given that title had been in development since 2019, if it is still going strong, we might hear about it this year and could see it release this year, but there really isn’t enough information to say either way.
Tango Gameworks
Series known to them: The Evil Within series, Ghostwire Tokyo
Founded by horror game icon Shinji Mikami and then bought that same year by Bethesda, Tango Gameworks has released two games so far, both set within the world of Evil Within. The latter of which released back in 2017 and since then the developer has been slowly working away on Ghostwire Tokyo.
That game is expected to ship this year, but exactly when is unknown and while the game will launch on PC and as a console exclusive on PlayStation 5, a release next year for Xbox is about all we can expect from them for a while.
ZeniMax Online Studios
Series known to them: The Elder Scrolls Online series
Since 2014, Zenimax Online Studios have been developing content for The Elder Scrolls Online, while the launch of the game was star-studded with actors like John Cleese and Michael Gambon in there, it was the One Tamriel update, that removed much of the annoying MMO gameplay elements and instead, made it feel more like a true Elder Scrolls game.
Each year since, the studio has had year long campaigns for the game, their most recent had players venturing back to the plains of Oblivion and while, at least at the time of writing, this years has not be officially announced, the teasing has begun.
So there you go, all we know and think we might know, about what the studios of Bethesda are up to. And yes, we know that the name of the company is technically Zenimax, most people just call them Bethesda, but what do you think, are we close or way of base? Let us know in the comments.
