After Oblivion Remastered and Hi-Fi Rush, Bethesda Game Studios director wants more shadowdrops because "we all have short attention spans now"

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After Oblivion Remastered and Hi-Fi Rush, Bethesda Game Studios director wants more shadowdrops because "we all have short attention spans now" News By Kaan Serin Contributions from Ali Jones published 22 November 2025

"Todd Howard, the boss man, he's wanted to shadowdrop things for a long time"

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(Image credit: Bethesda, Virtuos)

Bethesda's been more gung ho about releasing its games out of nowhere, with no prior warning, than most big publishers, and it's a trend that Bethesda Game Studios director Tom Mustaine wants to see continue.

In case you're unfamiliar, 'shadowdrops' are when publishers and developers launch a game without having announced a release date in advance. Sometimes they won't even bother revealing the game beforehand - Apex Legends was famously revealed and released to the masses at the same time.

And, in recent years, Bethesda's employed the tactic twice. Once with Hi-Fi Rush (which is now under the ownership of Krafton), and again with this year's The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered.

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• Oblivion Remastered's "physical" console releases will "require content download," and fans of the RPG aren't happy: "Why make something physical that still requires a download?"
• Fallout 3 remaster reportedly in production as Bethesda boss Todd Howard confirms the developer is working on Elder Scrolls 6, Fallout 76, "and some other things"

Speaking to GamesRadar+ at The Golden Joystick Awards 2025, Mustaine explained that "we had a real successful shadowdrop with Hi-Fi Rush through Xbox and through Bethesda," which prompted the publisher to try the same trick twice. "Todd Howard, the boss man, he's wanted to shadowdrop things for a long time because it's so great to be able to say, 'Here's the thing, get it today.' It's very valuable."

The other part of the equation is that most people, according to Mustaine, have less patience these days. (We can probably thank TikTok and an overwhelming release slate for that.) "We all have short attention spans now," he added. "There's Grand Theft Auto, for example. I want that today, right? So it is an interesting strategy... I don't have any ideas of what would be next, but I hope it's not the last. Personally, I think it was great to own the internet for that day and, you know, give people exactly what they want the moment we talk about it. I'm a fan of that personally, but I'd love to see more people do it."

What could Bethesda's next shadowdrop be? Part of the fun of a shadowdrop is that we just won't know 'till it happens, but the RPG powerhouse is reportedly back in the kitchen whipping up a Fallout 3 remaster. If I were a betting man...

Oblivion Remastered's "physical" console releases will "require content download," and fans of the RPG aren't happy: "Why make something physical that still requires a download?"

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Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. CATEGORIES Xbox Series X PS5 PC Gaming Platforms Xbox PlayStation Kaan SerinFreelance contributor

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.

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• Ali JonesManaging Editor, News

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