'No Rest For The Wicked' CEO Warns Gamers "To Be Careful Regarding Optimism" For 'Elder Scrolls VI' And 'The Witcher IV'
Thomas Mahler, the CEO of Moon Studios, the developer behind No Rest for the Wicked, Ori and the Blind Forest, and Ori and the Will of Wisps warned gamers to be careful regarding optimism towards Elder Scrolls VI and The Witcher IV.
In a thread reacting to Rebel Wolves’ debut trailer for The Blood of Dawnwalker, Mahler initially shared his thoughts about the game, “This looks really good! It’s been some time since I’ve seen an interesting take like that from a AAA studio, intriguing angle.”
He added, “But ultimately I hope a lot of effort is being put into combat mechanics. Witcher 3 was brilliant in terms of story, but I couldn’t play that game anymore simply due to its core gameplay.”
In response to this, an individual named Brator wrote, “I disliked the gameplay as well. Story was phenomenal and that's what everyone will be expecting from Witcher IV so I hope they will deliver. As for Dawnwalker, really excited for the game. I hope the next trailer receives more attention.”
Mahler then warned, “Witcher 3 came out 10 years ago and Witcher 4 isn’t made by the same people that made Witcher 3, so I think we have to be careful regarding optimism.”
“People expect Bethesda to make the next Skyrim, but game development is all about the people behind the scenes. That team who made Skyrim what it is doesn’t exist anymore. Brand means nothing. Talented teams are everything,” he concluded.
Mahler reiterated his stance while replying to another individual, “And it was the same with Blizzard and Diablo. 10 years is a long time and sadly, people sometimes disband. Even the Beatles broke up at some point.”
“And what we have going on in gaming is that someone took that dead Beatles corpse and keeps making music without John, Paul, George and Ringo,” he relayed. “But it was never about the Beatles brand. It was always about magic happening when these four folks came together to make music.”
There is obviously merit to this warning given what the new BioWare team produced with Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The game was made without Dragon Age: Origins original Project Director Dan Trudge. The other Project Director Mark Darrah left BioWare in 2022 while Veilguard was in development. Origins’ Lead Designers Brent Knowles, Mike Laidlaw, and James Ohlen did not work on Veilguard. Origins’ Lead Programmer and Technical Director Ross Gardner left BioWare in 2013. Alistair McNally, the Director of Art & Animation also left BioWare in 2017.
The writing team was also not the same. Lead Writer David Gaider left BioWare in 2016. Eric Baudoin last worked on Dragon Age: Inquisition before moving to Bethesda to work on Fallout 4 and more recently Starfield. Daniel Erickson left BioWare in 2012. Jennifer Hepler left in 2013. Jay Turner left in 2011.
What do you make of Mahler’s warning?
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