Don't Expect Starfield 2 Anytime Soon: Former Bethesda Lead Designer Says Game Wasn't Successful Enough
Space explorers hoping to see Bethesda redeem its galaxy with a full-blown sequel can pack away their flight suits. Kurt Kuhlmann, a veteran designer who spent decades shaping Bethesda Game Studios' biggest RPGs, has cast serious doubt on the future of the space franchise.
Having served as Lead Systems Designer and worked on genre-defining titles like Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, and Starfield before leaving the company, Kuhlmann offered an unusually candid assessment during an appearance on the FRVR podcast. In his view, the odds of ever seeing Starfield 2 enter production are virtually nonexistent.
Commercial Returns Fell Short of Justifying Starfield 2
Kuhlmann did not mince words when evaluating the commercial and critical reception of Bethesda's massive space RPG.
"I would be very surprised if there was a sequel, as I don't think Starfield was anywhere near successful enough to do a Starfield 2," Kuhlmann revealed on the podcast. It is a blunt reality check that cuts right through traditional corporate public relations.
For Kuhlmann, this outcome is particularly frustrating. He noted that it is deeply unfortunate, because a direct follow-up would have had the unique chance to learn from the first game's flaws and finally deliver on the expansive vision Todd Howard originally envisioned.
Procedural Scale Collided With Bethesda's Core Strengths
Reflecting on development, Kuhlmann acknowledged that Starfield was undeniably ambitious, but strayed uncomfortably far from Bethesda's traditional creative identity.
Generating one thousand procedural planets ultimately diluted the player experience rather than enriching it. Core mechanics like outpost construction and starship management often felt disconnected from the main questlines and handcrafted environmental storytelling.
Kuhlmann pointed out that while Todd Howard envisioned a romantic, endless frontier where players could lose themselves for hundreds of hours, the actual execution required technologies and loops that were simply not the team's forte. The studio lacked the manpower required to fill such an enormous canvas with the density and emergent roleplaying that made Skyrim legendary.
Players grew weary of fast-travel menus and disjointed load screens replacing seamless discovery. Kuhlmann also criticized recent corporate restructuring and industry-wide layoffs, labeling parts of the current management approach as complete nonsense that stripped talented veterans from the studio floor.
Bethesda and Xbox Pivot Entirely to The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout
Beyond Starfield's mixed legacy, harsh industry economics have forced Microsoft and Bethesda to consolidate their resources around proven, billion-dollar intellectual properties.
With Xbox preparing its hardware roadmap towards systems like the hybrid Xbox Project Helix in 2027, every major development pipeline at Bethesda Game Studios is now focused squarely on The Elder Scrolls VI.
Waiting right behind Tamriel on the production schedule is Fallout 5, which has taken on immense strategic urgency following the worldwide streaming success of Amazon's TV adaptation. Microsoft simply cannot afford to sit on the post-apocalyptic franchise for another decade.
While Starfield will continue to receive expansions like Shattered Space and ongoing Starborn content, the dream of a standalone sequel has been grounded. Bethesda has chosen its battlefield, and it will be fought in High Rock and the Wasteland, not among the stars.
SEO consultant for over 20 years and digital entrepreneur, Charles 'Grimtag' Ronchain is the founder of Pro-Gamer.gg, Retrocharting.com, and Gamescharting.com. A competitive gamer, streamer, and retro game collector, he has worked in the video game industry for over 15 years, notably as a consultant for leading game price comparison platforms. Passionate about real-time performance data and gaming technology, he analyzes competitive esports, gaming hardware benchmarks, and creator workflows on Pro-Gamer.gg with an authentic player perspective.
