Former Bethesda designer Bruce Nesmith says Todd Howard is a true workhorse who is also “incredibly photogenic,” which is why he's the face of the entire company these days.
In an incredibly revealing interview with Kiwi Talkz, Nesmith spoke at length about his decades of experience at Bethesda, as well as his relationship with Howard. At one point, he broached the topic of Howard's undisputed status as the face of Bethesda.
“[Bethesda head of publishing] “Pete Hines has made it no secret that when he took over marketing, Bethesda needed a face, they needed a person that the audience, the customers, the fans, could relate to. Having an entire team doesn't work well. You need someone who is, 'that's the guy,' and Todd made that decision very naturally. He's incredibly photogenic, he's amazing in person, in interviews, and on stage, and he was the head of the development team at the time, so he kind of grows into that role.”
Nesmith also mentioned that near the end of his tenure, Howard would have about two dozen projects on his plate at the same time.
“There are some small projects, some big projects, mobile games,” Nesmith said. “There are remote projects that you just have to look at, plus a variety of larger projects. That's a lot.”
Today, we know that Howard is involved in some capacity with several different projects, including (but not limited to) Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield, Fallout 76, the Fallout TV show, and Bethesda's Indiana Jones game.
The full interview is worth watching if you haven't already, but I'll leave you with a very comforting nugget from later in the interview, in which Nesmith predicts that Howard won't be leaving Bethesda “anytime soon.”
“He's still pretty young and very vital, and I think we've got many, many more years before we have to worry about Todd Howard not playing well,” Nesmith said.
Bethesda boss Todd Howard is the only gamer on Earth with this 1,000-point achievement, and years after Xbox gifted it to him, we finally know what it says.