Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Responds to Starfield’s Start Screen Controversy
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Bethesda’s Starfield is in its final stage of development with the game set to release on 6th September for Xbox Series X/S and PC. This will be a new venture for the studio considering that the game is their latest IP in 25 years. They have made huge claims about the game that have several fans waiting for its release in anticipation. With the game now available for pre-load on Xbox, there seems to be a bit of a controversy regarding the game’s start menu with several people calling out Bethesda for hastily designing the start screen. Let’s take a further look into this altercation.
Former Blizzard Dev Calls Out Bethesda Game Studios
On 19th August, Blizzard’s former developer Mark Kern (who worked on games like Diablo 2, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft) tweeted a screenshot of Starfield’s start menu, heavily criticizing its design.
In the tweet, Kern states that the start screen of a game can really determine its quality. He says that it shows a passionate team who are desperately trying to meet deadlines or a team that simply does not care.
He also mentions that the start screen is usually developed at the very end after all the core elements of a game have been designed, so it is quite common for it to completely change by the time it goes live.
This tweet has stirred up mixed emotions among fans with some agreeing with Kern, criticizing Bethesda for making a rushed start screen while others are defending the studio saying that the game must not be judged based on its start menu.
Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Responds
In response to this, the Head of Publishing at Bethesda Game Studios Pete Hines, calls out the former Blizzard dev in another tweet that the start screen had remained the same for years and that it was the first thing they decided upon. He also mentions that questioning a developer’s “care” for having a different take is highly unprofessional, which most of us can agree with.
At the time of writing, Mark Kern is yet to acknowledge Pete Hines’s response, although he has responded to several riled-up fans who commented on his tweet.
