Ex-Bethesda dev says his unique studio will not be making a “minute Skyrim,” nonetheless does channel a key half of the enduring RPG: “Stuff obtained constructed because any person cared about building it”

Joel Burgess formerly served as a stage fashion designer and a prominent Bethesda contributor on video games such as Fallout 3, 4, and 76, in addition to Skyrim. Now that he is the studio head at the new company Soft Rains, there may be some “anticipation” that the team, which also includes Ubisoft and Capybara Games among other talents, might be developing a “mini Skyrim.” Burgess states that their inaugural first-person sci-fi game is something quite different, yet the team aspires to achieve a similar creative impact as the creators of Bethesda’s iconic RPG.

“The aspects where I found the most satisfaction were environments of various scales where – I use this metaphor that we often discuss – we want everyone to be able to see their fingerprints on the game’s ‘clay’ when they step away from it,” Burgess tells GamesRadar+ in an interview at GDC 2025. Regarding Skyrim, which had around 95 to 100 individuals involved, he remarks that “things were created because someone cared about constructing them,” emphasizing the kind of atmosphere that Soft Rains is nurturing.

“We recognized it was a significant game, we understood how to proceed, and we fostered an environment in that game where you had the chance to influence it if you identified a way to do so, provided you could utilize the tools effectively and collaborate correctly,” he adds. “That was a 100-person team on a large AAA game, but it also applies to when I worked with my friends at Capybara on much smaller projects in a traditionally creative indie environment. I don’t think there’s necessarily a perfect team size; it really relies on the specific group.”

Operating within large teams where dynamics and challenges can become so immense that he might need “a sociology degree to tackle these” is not Burgess’s preferred approach to game development. Instead, he finds fulfillment in recognizing individual strengths and areas where improvement is needed, saying, “Let’s work together on something that will push you and allow you to grow in that regard.” He seeks this kind of growth for himself as well. “The dynamics and the scale of the game are going to…”