Pete Hines

Pete Hines was the senior vice president of global marketing & communications at Bethesda.

After nearly 24 years, Hines quit Bethesda in 2023, shortly after the release of Starfield, which was its first game since Microsoft acquired its parent company ZeniMax Media in 2021 in a $7.5bn deal.

Though he did not offer any specific grievances, e-mails published as part of Microsoft’s legal battle with The FTC over its Activision Blizzard deal, suggested that Hines was confused by the decision to allow Call of Duty to remain on PlayStation, while Bethesda was allegedly told to make its titles Xbox console exclusives.

Hines also testified in court, defending Microsoft’s decision to make Starfield and Indiana Jones (at the time) Xbox console exclusives.