Ex-Bethesda Exec Pete Hines Explains Why He Left, And He Didn't Mince Words

Bethesda veteran Pete Hines left the Elder Scrolls and Fallout studio in 2023 after more than 24 years with the company. He's now retired, and in a recent interview, Hines talked about leaving Bethesda and had some harsh words for what the company has become today. To be sure, Hines did not say Microsoft one time in the interview, and did not single out any specific person or event in his comments.

Speaking to Kirk McKeand for his Firezide Chat series, Hines said one of the reasons he decided to retire in 2023 was because he came to realize he "could not spend the rest of my life doing something that wasn't for me."

"I was staying there because this place still needs me. I just hit a point of, 'Yes, it needs me, and I am powerless to do what I think needs to be done to run this place properly, to protect these people, to maintain what we worked so hard to create, which is an incredibly efficient, well-run video game developer and publisher,'" he said.