Elder Scrolls Veteran Criticizes Modern Open-World RPGs

Ted Peterson, one of the founders of The Elder Scrolls series, has criticized modern RPGs. In his opinion, they lack freedom, and many projects force players to follow a single path.

The developer gave an interview to Video Gamer, promoting his own project The Wayward Realms, a spiritual successor to The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. He assured that his game will have several ways to complete a particular quest, which will certainly be reflected in the endings. At the same time, he accused modern open-world RPGs of linearity and lack of content:

He explained that he was tired of modern open-world RPGs that still adhere to a linear approach. On the other hand, Ted Peterson approved of Baldur's Gate 3, which was released in 2023. The success of the project from Larian Studios encouraged him, because the audience is now craving more freedom for the player and more branching quests.

Recall that The Wayward Realms has been in development since 2019 by the studio OnceLost Games, founded by former Bethesda employees. The project will be a large-scale RPG with an open world, the consequences of choices and thousands of NPCs. The game can already be added to the Steam wishlist, but there is no release date yet.

Earlier, game designer Josh Sawyer, known to many for Fallout: New Vegas, criticized modern open-world games.