Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Pete Hines, the head of publishing for Starfield creator Bethesda, has announced he’s stepping down from the studio after 24 years.
Hines made the announcement on his social media pages, saying “After 24 years, I have decided my time at Bethesda Softworks has come to an end. 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. This is not a decision I came to easily or quickly, but after an amazing career, culminating in the incredible launch of Starfield, it feels like the time is right.”
In his announcement, Hines thanked the “hundreds and thousands of fans I’ve gotten to meet and talk to over the last 24 years. Your energy, creativity and support has been such a big part of my journey. I look forward to experiencing the next part of the adventure alongside you. Working with the amazing people, teams, and studios at Bethesda has been the greatest experience of my life. I’m incredibly proud of everything we have done together, and I’m genuinely excited to see the amazing things they will create next. Love you guys, Pete.”
Hines had been at the company since 1999, and had worked as VP and marketing on just about every major release since then, including a litany of titles that include The Elder Scrolls series on Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim, as well as Fallout 3, Fallout New Vegas, Fallout 4 and Fallout 76. He also worked on the Dishonored series, Wolfenstein, the Evil Within, Doom Eternal, Deathloop and pretty much every game that came out of Bethesda’s publishing and development arms, and then of course Starfield as his final title before his retirement.
Bethesda themselves gave a very heartwarming response to Hines’ announcement with one of their own, mocking up one of the famous ‘Doctor’s Notes’ usually used as a fun marketing gig (and often employed by Hines himself) to ask permission for some time off for a game launch. Hines’ personalised one said “Please excuse Pete Hines from work. After devoting so much of his time, love, and care to Bethesda, we are prescribing him ongoing treatment in the form of the following: lots of gaming, devoting care and affection to foster pups (and keeping a few), Card-Collecting in all forms, having fun with friends in the community, and of course… more games! – Signed, the Head Doctors of Gratitude.”
The news comes just a month following the massive release of Starfield on the Xbox Series X|S and PC, and interestingly just a few days removed from Activision officially becoming a part of Microsoft and Xbox in a deal that took almost two years to complete and $68.7 billion in dollars. Bethesda itself was of course previously acquired by Xbox back in 2020 when Microsoft bought parent company Zenimax for $7.5 billion dollars.
