Starfield features an overhauled Bethesda animation system
A senior programmer has rewritten the animation system "from scratch"
Whenever Starfield releases, it'll have a brand new animation system from Bethesda Game Studios.
The news comes from some eagle-eyed LinkedIn users, who spotted that Bethesda animator Eric Braun briefly wrote about the game on his page (via ResetEra). Under his 'Experience' section, Braun is listed as a Senior Programmer for Bethesda in Maryland, where he "rewrote animation system for Starfield from scratch."
If you're a little tired of looking at the same animations in Bethesda games in general, from the likes of Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, then this is certainly welcome news. You might recall how, in September, Bethesda's Todd Howard revealed that the studio was "overhauling" its game engine for both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. Combining a new animation system with a new game engine certainly sounds promising for Bethesda's space-faring RPG.
That news, which was the first announcement of sorts that Bethesda had made about Starfield since it was first revealed, broke alongside Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda. It's been over a month now since Microsoft purchased Zenimax Media Inc., Bethesda's parent company, bringing in studios like Arkane, Tanga Gameworks, and others under its wing.
We still know relatively little about Starfield, though. Aside from it being an RPG set in space and being Bethesda's first original IP in over two decades, we know next to nothing about the RPG so far.
For a complete look at all the additional upcoming games of this year and beyond, head over to our upcoming 2020 games guide.
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Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.