"When you make literally billions of dollars on Skyrim," Bethesda veteran would be "shocked" if Amazon's Fallout TV show makes the studio "any money they care about"
259
Jordan Gerblick
2026-02-03
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands
Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
Every Friday
Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.
Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Every Saturday
The Watchlist
Once a month
SFX
Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!
Prime TV's hit adaptation of Fallout is obviously the result of a collaboration between Amazon and Bethesda, the company holding the rights to the IP, but according to Bruce Nesmith, a former veteran of the studio who left in 2021, the money Bethesda makes from the TV show pales in comparison to what it earns from highly successful games like Skyrim.
"What you have to realize about things like the Fallout TV show is that they don't make Bethesda money directly," Nesmith told Press Box PR. "I would be shocked if Bethesda is making any money that they care about really, not when you make literally billions of dollars on Skyrim. What you're going to make by licensing the IP to this TV show is just peanuts."
So, why license out the rights to a beloved IP if you aren't making any substantial money directly? Well, the obvious benefit for Bethesda is the explosion of interest in that IP should an adaptation be successful, which the Fallout TV show has proven to be.
Fallout worked as a TV show because it's "unique," says former Skyrim lead – but The Elder Scrolls series might not
Fallout's TV adaptation is "way more" popular than Todd Howard expected, so the RPG series' devs have had to ensure "the games are ready for all the players who are coming into them"
After the success of Fallout, Bethesda boss Todd Howard says an Elder Scrolls TV series "can't be ruled out"
"What it gets you is notoriety. It's marketing. Do they really need marketing for Elder Scrolls 6?," Nesmith pondered. The answer is probably not, but it's also hard not to notice things like the entire Fallout game series being heavily discounted just as the TV show's highly acclaimed second season is wrapping up, for instance. Seems like a symbiotic relationship even if Amazon isn't directly sharing profits with Bethesda.
In other news, Elder Scrolls 6 will "most definitely" have more trees than Skyrim, according to Todd Howard himself.
Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox
midnightLemon
Feb 04, 12:51 AM
never ?The price is too low.? Shockingly deep
Recent Articles