Pete Hines, the head of Bethesda’s publishing division, believes that bugs in games are inevitable, but they are a consequence of the freedom that a player gets in a large open world. He stated this in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, discussing the Starfield game and the studio’s history with bugs, writes TechRadar.
According to him, the developer prefers player freedom to a technically perfect game, because the game’s large open universe will inevitably contain bugs as opposed to polished linear scenes. At the same time, Pete Hines added that he likes to embrace the chaos that some bugs can create. He also hinted that some of them might be intentional.
“We could make a safer, less buggy, less risky game if we wanted to. But what we try to lean into is player freedom. Yes, there’s going to be some little things here and there where your companion might stand a little too close to you sometimes, yet the freedom you get, and the things that happen because of that, we absolutely love and embrace,” he said.
As it is known, last week Starfield was released in early access for those who pre-ordered the game’s Premium Edition or Constellation Edition. So far, players have encountered the usual Bethesda bugs. But Pete Hines does not consider them a problem for the overall experience.
“Of course there are bugs,” he said. “But does it take away from your experience? Or do you have a consistent, fun game that you just can’t stop playing and experimenting with?”
In addition, he spoke about an unusual bug in Starfield. In a city on the planet Neon, which is covered with water, a shark could get into an elevator. When its doors opened at ground level, the shark would slip out, people would run away, and the guards would try to kill it.
“I said: ‘Do not take this bug out of the game!’ I’m almost positive they did but I love that stuff,” Pete Hines added.
Starfield will be officially released on September 6 for Xbox Series X|S and PC.
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