Bethesda’s Pete Hines is retiring, now that Starfield’s out

Pete Hines was the publisher at Bethesda Softworks, the company behind Fallout 3, The Elder Scrolls and many other games. StarfieldHines is retiring. Hines, who has been with Bethesda for 24 years, announced on Monday that he is leaving the gaming industry.

“After 24 years, I have decided my time at Bethesda Softworks has come to an end,” Hines wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I am retiring and will begin an exciting new chapter of my life exploring interests and passions, donating my time where I can, and taking more time to enjoy life. After an incredible career that culminated in the amazing launch of Starfield, it feels like the time is right.”

It is not a statement from Bethesda, the company wrote, “Pete’s public presence was only a small part of his role at Bethesda, although the way he represented us carried over into the values he nurtured here: authenticity, integrity and passion. He has played a key role in making Bethesda, and the studios that make up its group, into a world-class company. His vision helped push us forward, and his hard work inspired us.”

Hines has been a prominent spokesperson for Bethesda for the past two decades, appearing on stage at industry events like E3, QuakeCon, and Gamescom to pitch and promote games from Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, MachineGames, and other developers under the publisher’s umbrella. Hines was also a well-known personality on social media. writing fake doctor’s notes that would, in theory, excuse Bethesda fans from work or school so they could play the company’s new releases on launch day.

The official Bethesda Twitter account sent a thank-you note to Hines, excluding him from all future projects. In other words, Hines’ departure sounds more than amicable.

Hines’ tenure as senior vice president of global marketing and communications at Bethesda, a title he held until November 2022, had its share of controversy. Bethesda said in 2016 that, after a blog post was deleted, it no longer distributed pre-releases of games to media and critics. Later, the company reversed that decision. Bethesda also blacklisted Kotaku over the last decade, according to reports. Bethesda has been criticized for refusing to release pre-release copies of the game. StarfieldYou can find them in outlets such as Eurogamer The Guardian and Edge.

Bethesda’s latest game, an exploration-based role-playing title in space, was launched just a few weeks ago, according to Hines. Starfield. It took nearly eight years to create and it was revealed in public for the first time in 2018. Bethesda Game Studios has also announced that it will deliver a brand new Elder Scrolls title, currently called The Elder Scrolls VI, which isn’t coming until at least 2026, according to a report from The Verge.