Bethesda’s studio buying spree was fueled by wanting to work with likeminded devs: “If you have a chance to work with [Resident Evil creator] Shinji Mikami, you should always say yes”

Bethesda’s late-2000s shopping binge wasn’t driven by a hunger to gobble studios—former publishing boss Pete Hines says the headline-grabbing pickups were sparked by a simple desire to team up with kindred creators.

Chatting with DBLTAP about his 24-year tenure, Hines recalled the moment the company finally reached beyond its Elder Scrolls and Fallout strongholds as “a really big milestone.” In rapid succession it welcomed id Software (Doom), Arkane Studios (Dishonored, Prey, Marvel’s Blade), MachineGames (Wolfenstein, Indiana Jones), and Tango Gameworks (The Evil Within, Hi-Fi Rush)—transforming the once-RPG-centric outfit into a multi-genre publishing juggernaut.

“We genuinely admired what id Software pulled off,” Hines remarked. “The chat didn’t kick off with, ‘Let’s purchase you.’ Just like with MachineGames and Arkane, it opened with: ‘We’d love to build something together—we respect your craft and sense we share the same creative genes.’”

“Whenever the opportunity to collaborate with [Resident Evil legend and Tango founder] Shinji Mikami appears, your answer should always be an instant yes,” he added, referring to the briefly shuttered, now-rebooted studio.

Although each house tackled wildly different genres, their titles overlapped in one key area: mainstream rivals weren’t touching those niches—single-player shooters, immersive sims, and old-school third-person horror were thin on the ground that generation.

Hines stressed that one of the greatest upsides of the expansion was cross-studio knowledge-sharing. “It paid off when, say, a Bethesda Game Studios weapon designer could pick id’s brain about how they give their firearms that crunch and heft,” he noted. “Our mantra was: let each group craft its own passion project.”

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Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that’s vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he’ll soon forget.