Former Bethesda boss reveals people were worried about Skyrim going against Call of Duty

Former Bethesda boss Pete Hines says some people were worried The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would flop against Call of Duty.

Former Bethesda boss Pete Hines says some people were worried The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim would flop against Call of Duty.

The executive has opened up on the reaction within the gaming industry to 2002’s The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind as an Xbox exclusive, and Skyrim dropping on November 11, 2011, three days after COD: Modern Warfare 3.

He told dbltap: “If I had a nickel for every time somebody said Morrowind would never work on an Xbox…

“‘Oh, Skyrim can’t survive going up against Call of Duty. Same window. Everybody’s gonna play Call of Duty. Nobody’s gonna buy your game.’ “

Hines – who is now retired – remained stubborn and confident in his own work, and he was determined to prove that the critics were wrong.

He added: “I just said, ‘I get that they’re a big brand, but they’re not a better game. I will go up against those guys.

“‘I will spend [marketing money] against those guys. I will never spend anywhere near as much and I can still win.’

“They told us not to release Oblivion in May. Nobody releases games in the spring, that’ll never work. We did just fine.”

Hines admitted the idea of fighting back against preconceptions in the gaming industry was “so fun”, especially when he was proven right.

He said: “I think we were better at it than anybody else in terms of what we were able to do, when you look at the awards we won, the players we brought in, and how we went about doing it right.

“I wanted to be a part of a company where if anybody peeks into a window to see how we’re doing this, I feel okay about it.”