Todd Howard says Bethesda’s games are ‘irresponsibly large’, explains why

Bethesda’s games are “irresponsibly large”, but there’s a clear reason for that, according to Todd Howard.

Howard, who serves as executive producer and director at Bethesda Game Studios and was most recently game director on Starfield, recorded an interview with BAFTA speaking about his work.

During the interview, he explained that the reason Bethesda’s games are so big is because the studio rarely cuts any content.

“My job on the games often is to be the director, a little bit like a movie director,” he said, “where you’re bringing all the parts together from the art, the cinematography, the technology that our engineers are building to bring these worlds to life.

“And obviously, [there’s] all of the writing and the quest design and the level designer, and there’s so many parts to our games that I’m in a really unique position to work with so many amazing people and bring all of that together.”

Smirking, he then added: “Actually, we cut very little from our games at Bethesda, which is why the games are so irresponsibly large.”

Starfield’s first big expansion Shattered Space is released today on Xbox Series X/S and PC.

The DLC is included with the Premium and Constellation Editions of Starfield, or available to purchase separately for $29.99 / £29.99.

In terms of scope, Howard has likened Shattered Space to Fallout 4’s Far Harbor expansion. He has also said he hopes to release Starfield story expansions on an annual basis.