Bethesda Softworks is a developer and publisher of video games. The company is based in Rockville, Maryland, in the United States. With a broad panoply of games in role-playing, racing, simulation, and sports, Bethesda Softworks' major franchises are distributed worldwide. On September 21, 2020, Microsoft Game Studios announced that they had acquired Zenimax Media, which also meant the acquisition of Bethesda Softworks and id Software.
History[ | ]
Bethesda Softworks has been a developer and publisher of interactive entertainment content for over two decades. Founded in 1985 by Christopher Weaver in Bethesda, Maryland and moved to Rockville, Maryland in 1990, Bethesda has a long history of PC and console games. In 1998, Weaver decided to expand the company beyond PC games and into multimedia and invited Robert Altman to help manage the new company. Weaver and Altman co-founded ZeniMax Media Inc. in 1999.
Bethesda is credited with the creation of the first physics-based sports simulation (Gridiron!) in 1986 for the Atari ST, Commodore Amiga and Commodore 64/128, which led to Bethesda's creation of the first Madden NFL game for Electronic Arts. Bethesda's early games scored respectably in the gaming press, earning accolades as "the most accurate and enjoyable simulation of a sport I have ever had the pleasure to play", "the best ice hockey sim yet", for Wayne Gretzky Hockey, and a note that Gridiron! "demands a look."
Despite a long history of development in many genres, Bethesda is perhaps best known for creating The Elder Scrolls RPG series, based upon the original programming of Julian Lefay. The first chapter of the series, entitled The Elder Scrolls: Arena, was released in 1994. Since that time, numerous other chapters have been released. The game's direct sequels, Daggerfall and Morrowind, were released in 1996 and 2002, respectively. Additionally, the game has had several spin-offs: Battlespire (1997), Redguard, (1998) and The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey (2004). Since that time, numerous other chapters have been released. The latest chapter, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, was released in March, 2006, and received numerous Game of the Year accolades. Bethesda is also known for publishing titles based upon popular movie franchises, including The Terminator, Star Trek, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
In 2004, Bethesda acquired the Fallout franchise from Interplay Productions, and turned the development of Fallout 3 over to Bethesda Game Studios. Fallout 3 was released on October 28, 2008, and has won over 60 Game of the Year Awards — including honors from IGN, the Game Developers’ Choice Awards, and Game Critics Awards. Bethesda has continued to support Fallout 3 with five Downloadable Content Packs — Operation: Anchorage, The Pitt, Broken Steel, Point Lookout, and Mothership Zeta.
Bethesda continues to expand their publishing duties. In 2009, Bethesda plans to release WET and Rogue Warrior. In 2010, Bethesda is publishing Splash Damage’s Brink and Obsidian Entertainment's new Fallout title, Fallout: New Vegas.
On June 24, 2009, Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media, acquired id Software, whose titles will be published by Bethesda Softworks.
Divisions[ | ]
Bethesda Game Studios (BGS) is the in-house development team led by Todd Howard and owned by Bethesda Softworks. Not all BGS titles are published by Bethesda Softworks.
"Bethesda Softworks" is often used to designate games "published" by Bethesda, both BGS projects and those developed externally.
The Elder Scrolls series[ | ]
- 1994 – The Elder Scrolls: Arena
- 1996 – The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall
- 1997 – The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire
- 1998 – The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard
- 2002 – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- 2002 – The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal
- 2003 – The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon
- 2003 – The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold
- 2004 – The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey
- 2004 – The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar
- 2006 – The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- 2006 – The Elder Scrolls IV: Knights of the Nine
- 2007 – The Elder Scrolls IV: Shivering Isles
- 2010 – The Elder Scrolls Travels: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls Travel series, including Shadowkey, Stormhold and Dawnstar, was co-developed by sister studio Vir2L, another ZeniMax Media company.
List of games by Bethesda Softworks[ | ]
Games developed and published by Bethesda Softworks[ | ]
| Year | Title | Genres | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Gridiron! | Sports | Atari ST, Amiga, Commodore 64 |
| 1988 | Wayne Gretzky Hockey | Sports | Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, NES |
| 1990 | Wayne Gretzky Hockey 2 | Sports | DOS |
| 1990 | The Terminator | Free-form Action, Adventure | DOS |
| 1990 | Hockey League Simulator | Sports management | Amiga, DOS |
| 1991 | Wayne Gretzky Hockey 3 | Sports | DOS |
| 1991 | Home Alone | Action | NES |
| 1991 | NCAA Basketball: Road To The Final Four ('91/'92 Edition) | Sports | DOS |
| 1992 | Terminator 2029 | Action, Strategy | DOS |
| 1992 | Hockey League Simulator 2 | Sports management | DOS |
| 1993 | The Terminator: Rampage | Action | DOS |
| 1993 | Terminator 2029: Operation Scour | Action, Strategy | DOS |
| 1993 | The Elder Scrolls: Arena | Action, Adventure, RPG | DOS |
| 1994 | Terminator 2029 - The Deluxe CD Edition | Action, Strategy | DOS |
| 1994 | NCAA: Road to the Final Four 2 | Sports | DOS |
| 1994 | Delta V | Action, Racing | DOS |
| 1995 | Terminator: Future Shock | Action | DOS |
| 1996 | SkyNET | Action | DOS |
| 1996 | The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall | Adventure, RPG | DOS |
| 1997 | The Elder Scrolls Legends: Battlespire | Action RPG | DOS, Microsoft Windows |
| 1997 | PBA Bowling | Sports | Microsoft Windows |
| 1997 | XCar: Experimental Racing | Racing Simulation | DOS |
| 1998 | Burnout: Championship Drag Racing | Racing | DOS |
| 1998 | The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard | Action RPG | Microsoft Windows |
| 1998 | Symbiocom | Adventure | Microsoft Windows |
| 1998 | Zero Critical | Adventure | Microsoft Windows |
| 1999 | NIRA Intense Import Drag Racing | Racing | Microsoft Windows |
| 1999 | Skip Barber Racing | Racing | Microsoft Windows |
| 2000 | IHRA Drag Racing | Racing | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation |
| 2000 | PBA Bowling 2 | Sports | Microsoft Windows |
| 2000 | PBA Bowling 2001 | Sports | Microsoft Windows, Dreamcast (Unreleased but gold-version leaked) |
| 2000 | Sea Dogs | Adventure | Microsoft Windows |
| 2001 | IHRA Motorsports | Racing | Microsoft Windows |
| 2001 | IHRA Drag Racing 2 | Racing | PlayStation 2 |
| 2001 | Echelon | Action, Simulation | Microsoft Windows |
| 2002 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind | Adventure, RPG | Microsoft Windows, Xbox |
| 2002 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Collector's Edition | Adventure, RPG | Microsoft Windows |
| 2002 | The Elder Scrolls III: Tribunal | Adventure, RPG | Microsoft Windows |
| 2003 | IHRA Drag Racing 2004 | Racing | Xbox |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean | Adventure | Microsoft Windows, Xbox |
| 2003 | The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon | Adventure, RPG | Microsoft Windows |
| 2003 | The Elder Scrolls III: Bloodmoon & Tribunal Duopack | Adventure, RPG | Microsoft Windows |
| 2003 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Game of the Year Edition | Adventure, RPG | Microsoft Windows, Xbox |
| 2003 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Platinum Edition | Adventure, RPG | Xbox |
| 2004 | The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind - Game of the Year: Platinum Edition | Adventure, RPG | Xbox |
| 2004 | IHRA Drag Professional Racing 2005 | Racing | Xbox, PlayStation 2 |
| 2006 | IHRA Drag Racing: Sportsman Edition | Racing | Microsoft Windows, Xbox, PlayStation 2 |
| 2008 | Fallout 3 | Action RPG | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 |
Games developed by Bethesda Softworks, but externally published[ | ]
| Year | Title | Genres | Platforms | Publisher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Home Alone | Action | NES | THQ |
| 1991 | Where's Waldo? | Puzzle | NES | THQ |
| 2004 | High Rollers Casino | Cards, Gambling | Xbox | Mud Duck Productions |
| 2004 | AMF Bowling 2004 | Sports | Xbox, PlayStation 2 | Mud Duck Productions |
| 2006 | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion | Action RPG | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360 | 2K Games |
| 2007 | PlayStation 3 | Ubisoft | ||
| 2007 | The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion - Game of the Year Edition | Action RPG | Microsoft Windows, Xbox 360, PS3 (US) | 2K Games (Xbox360), Ubisoft (PS3) |
Games published by Bethesda Softworks[ | ]
The following games were published by Bethesda, but externally developed. (Note: Vir2L is a division of ZeniMax Media Inc., Bethesda's parent company, and Vir2L calls themselves a 'sister company' to Bethesda on their website.)
| Year | Title | Genres | Platforms | Developer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | F-16 Aggressor | Vehicle simulation | Microsoft Windows | Virgin Interactive |
| 1998 | Magic and Mayhem | Action, Strategy | Microsoft Windows | Mythos Games |
| 2000 | Gromada | Action | Microsoft Windows | Buka Entertainment |
| 2000 | Sea Dogs | Action, RPG, Simulation, Strategy | Microsoft Windows | Akella |
| 2001 | Magic & Mayhem: The Art of Magic | RPG, Strategy | Microsoft Windows | Mythos Games |
| 2002 | Family Card Games Fun Pack | Cards | PlayStation | Mud Duck Productions |
| 2003 | Puzznic | Puzzle, Action | PlayStation | Altron |
| 2003 | Pirates of the Caribbean | RPG | Microsoft Windows, Xbox | Akella |
| 2003 | The Elder Scrolls Travels: Stormhold | Adventure, RPG | Java and BREW-enabled mobile devices | Vir2L, co-published by MFORMA |
| 2004 | Powerdrome | Racing | Xbox, PlayStation 2 | Argonaut Games, co-published by Mud Duck Productions |
| 2004 | The Elder Scrolls Travels: Dawnstar | Adventure, RPG | Java and BREW enabled mobile devices | Vir2L |
| 2004 | The Elder Scrolls Travels: Shadowkey | Adventure, RPG | N-Gage | Vir2L co-published by Nokia |
| 2004 | IHRA Drag Racing Multiplayer | Racing | Java and BREW enabled mobile devices | Vir2L, co-published by MFORMA |
| 2005, 2006 | Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth | Adventure | Xbox, Microsoft Windows | Headfirst Productions |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow | Adventure | Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 | 7 Studios, Buena Vista Games, co-published by Ubisoft |
| 2006 | Star Trek: Encounters | Strategy | PlayStation 2 | 4J Studios |
| 2006 | Star Trek: Legacy | Strategy | Microsoft Windows, Xbox | Mad Doc Software |
| 2006 | Star Trek: Tactical Assault | Strategy | PSP, Nintendo DS | Quicksilver Software |
| 2007 | Star Trek: Conquest | Strategy | Wii, PS2 | 4J Studios |
| 2008 | Bully (Publishing in Japan only) | Action | PS2, Xbox 360 | Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar New England |
| 2009 | WET | Third person shooter | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 | Artificial Mind and Movement |
| 2009 | Rogue Warrior | FPS | PC, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 | Rebellion Developments |
| 2009 | Wheelspin (Publishing in Europe only) | Racing | Wii | Awesome Play |
| 2010 | Fallout: New Vegas | RPG | PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Obsidian Entertainment |
| 2010 | Brink | FPS | PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 | Splash Damage |
| 2010 | RAGE | FPS | Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 | id Software |
External Links[ | ]
- Bethesda Softworks
- ZeniMax Media Inc.
- UESP on Bethesda – The UESPWiki article on Bethesda.
- The Official Elder Scrolls Home Page
- Bethesda Softworks profile on MobyGames
- Moby Games - Contains a brief bio and games credit list for Bethesda founder Christopher Weaver