Starfield, Bethesda’s new space exploration RPG, has made a big impression on players, good and bad. While the game features beautiful landscapes and a large galaxy, it often suffers from performance issues, awkward animations, and repetitive settings—issues that come from using the outdated Creation Engine. This isn’t just about graphics; the technology limits what the gameplay can do, and that issue could hurt Fallout 5.

Although Bethesda has improved the Creation Engine over the years, it still relies on technology dating back to Morrowind, released over 20 years ago. This dependence on an old engine could hold back future games, especially the long-awaited Fallout 5. Fallout 5 should start fresh and leave behind past limitations to succeed. Only by stepping away from the Creation Engine can Bethesda provide the polished game that fans want. The future of Fallout depends on letting go of the past.

The Creation Engine’s Age Is Clear In Starfield

Bethesda Is Known For Their Games’ Bugs

Starfield has some technical issues that highlight the limitations of the Creation Engine. Although the game offers a huge galaxy to explore, players often face performance problems, especially if they’re using less powerful hardware. Frame rate drops can break the immersion, even in areas with little going on, indicating that the engine struggles with the game’s large scale.

Additionally, the character animations can seem stiff and unnatural, often lacking expression, which makes the characters look lifeless. That detracts from the overall experience and makes the game feel dated. The game’s use of procedural generation also tries to create variety, but it often leads to repetitive landscapes. Many planets look very similar and lack the unique features that make them feel new.

This repetitiveness and frequent loading screens when moving between locations—sometimes even those that are close together—shows the engine’s inability to smoothly integrate different kinds of content. This can make it difficult for players to immerse themselves fully in the game. However, all these issues come from the fact that it’s made with the Creation Engine. Even with some improvements, the engine isn’t delivering the promised next-level gaming experience. This is a strong argument for the need for a complete upgrade to a new engine for Fallout 5 so it can truly reach its potential.

The Creation Engine is a Modification of a Much Older Engine

It’s A Lot Older Than You Think

The Creation Engine, which powers Bethesda’s recent games like Starfield, is not a completely new creation. Instead, it’s a modified version of Gamebryo, an engine first developed in the late 1990s. Although Bethesda has continually upgraded and expanded Gamebryo into the Creation Engine and now Creation Engine 2, the foundation is still quite old. Morrowind may have been released 22 years ago, in 2002, but it started development in 1997. This means the Creation Engine is a lot older than it seems, and it’s still used to make games today.

While some people consider Morrowind to be the best Elder Scrolls game, that doesn’t mean developers should keep using its engine.

The problems aren’t just superficial; they lead to serious issues. For example, players might notice frame rate drops and long loading screens in Starfield. Additionally, the old code struggles to keep up with modern gaming expectations, leading to awkward animations, repetitive game environments, and limited gameplay options. Starfield feels like a game released a decade ago because its gameplay is dated.

While Bethesda has made patches and improvements, trying to modernize such an old engine often means making trade-offs. This situation highlights the need for a completely new engine to fully realize the potential of future games. The burden of this long history is becoming too much for Bethesda’s ambitious projects. Starfield is not the first game to have seen these issues with; it’s just the game that showed many how dated the engine is.

Many of Bethesda’s Games, Like Starfield, Are Held Back By Its Engine

Loading Screens Should Stay In The Past

Bethesda Game Studios has been using its Creation Engine for a long time, way before Starfield. Bethesda is well known for the bugs its games have, but the issues are starting to hold the studio back. The limitations of the Creation Engine affect not just how a game looks and runs, but also how deep and immersive the game worlds are. Players often come across repetitive environments, strange AI behaviors, and physics that didn’t always make sense. Some thought Starfield wouldn’t have Skyrim‘s glitches, but it does, and that’s a problem.

It’s true that some modders have removed the dreaded loading screens, but that’s something Bethesda should have done; it doesn’t save the engine.

The issues weren’t just about graphics; core gameplay elements, like the combat system, also felt outdated because of the engine’s design. Even after updates for Fallout 76, many of the same concerns lingered, which would frustrate players. These technical problems have continued into Bethesda’s latest game, Starfield, which shows the pressing need for a change.

The engine has a long history, dating back to the older Gamebryo engine, and it’s starting to limit Bethesda’s creativity and ability to compete with other studios that have upgraded to new technology. Starfield’s universe only highlighted these issues, making it clear that it’s time for Bethesda to move on from the past and improve their technology for the future.

Bethesda Is Just Holding Out On Making A New Engine

Bethesda Needs To Make An Engine, Not Excuses

Bethesda Game Studios continues to use the outdated Creation Engine despite its clear shortcomings shown in Starfield. This shows a deeper problem within the company because it seems unwilling to invest in a new game engine. A former Bethesda developer claimed (via Videogamer) that no other engine can match the unique features of the Creation Engine, but there’s more to that than meets the eye. No other engine exists for Bethesda’s actions because the company refuses to make it. Until they’re forced to update, the developers will keep using the outdated engine.

Bethesda has the money and the skilled team needed to build a modern engine that suits these requirements. Saying there are no good alternatives overlooks the innovations made by other major game studios and the possibility of creating something better. The issue isn’t that there aren’t options; it’s that Bethesda doesn’t want to put in the time and effort needed to switch to new technology. The studio’s comfort with the current system is both good and bad. It keeps them in their routine but stops devs from using modern tools that could significantly improve their games.

In the end, Bethesda’s ongoing use of an old engine is not just about needing it; it’s a choice to stick with something familiar, which sacrifices long-term improvement for short-term ease. This stubbornness could seriously harm future games, like the upcoming Fallout 5, which will likely face the same issues if they don’t change. It’s time for Bethesda to move on and embrace new technology, or it’ll have another Starfield on its hands.