Morrowind doesn't 'stand the test of time' for a remake, Skyrim lead designer says

Will Bethesda ever remake Morrowind, one of the weirdest RPGs of all time? Probably not--at least that's what Skyrim's lead designer thinks.

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Bruce Nesmith has had a shaping hand in Bethesda's landmark games, having served as quest designer on Oblivion and lead designer on Skyrim, the best-selling roleplaying game of all time. After everything he's done at Bethesda, he thinks that Morrowind is a product of the past that wouldn't translate well to modern audiences (the diabolically frustrating dice-roll combat says hello).

In a recent PR interview, Nesmith shared his view on a Morrowind remake--assuming it's even possible and Bethesda hasn't lost the original source code. Nesmith thinks that the game is so old that new-age players would cringe in response.

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"The problem with doing Morrowind is that I bet they don't have the original code. The game is so old. I don't know if the original source code exists anymore. If it does, can you even compile it?

"When you're looking at Oblivion, they still had the code. They could still compile it. Putting the code into the new version of the engine was a possibility.

"The other thing I would say is go back and play Morrowind and tell me that's the game you want to play again. We all have these fond memories of things that were pivotal moments in our gaming fantasy histories that we absolutely move but you go back and play a 20 year old game and you will cringe.

"People even had cringe moments with the Oblivion remake but they forgave it because they're reliving something, they're enjoying the nostalgia. I worked on Oblivion. I'm even responsible for some of those cringe moments! The further back you go, the more that's going to be an issue.

"The reality of playing Morrowind would not stand the test of time, in my opinion."

What's odd is that Nesmith goes on to say that Bethesda could "remake Morrowind with the Skyrim engine"...which is exactly what a group of fans are doing with the Skywind project. Maybe Nesmith didn't know about this mod.

For now, Morrowind stands firmly ensconced in time as one of the most beloved Elder Scrolls games and still has a bustling--if not perhaps aging--fanbase to this day.