Former Bethesda Exec Hines Laments 'Damaged and Broken Apart' Company

Pete Hines says he was 'powerless' to protect Bethesda from being 'mistreated' and 'abused' before his 2023 retirement.

Apr. 12, 2026 at 9:26pm

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Former Bethesda Softworks marketing lead Pete Hines has opened up about how he saw the Fallout publisher get "damaged and broken apart" before announcing his retirement in 2023. Hines touched on why he chose to step away, saying he reached a point where he was "powerless" to do what he felt was needed to "properly" run and protect the company he had worked at for over two decades.

Why it matters

Hines' comments shed light on the internal struggles at Bethesda during a period of major industry changes, including Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of parent company ZeniMax Media in 2021. His departure also came amid controversies over Bethesda's game exclusivity decisions and the troubled launch of Fallout 76.

The details

Hines said he eventually made the decision to leave Bethesda sometime in 2022, the year before the launch of the highly anticipated Starfield. He cited the repeated delays of that game as a factor, saying "Every time Todd delayed Starfield, I thought, f**k, I'm here another eight months." Hines refrained from going into specifics about the individual events or decisions that led him to consider exiting, but he expressed frustration over Bethesda becoming "part of something that is not authentic and is not genuine."

  • Hines announced his retirement from Bethesda in 2023.
  • Microsoft announced its $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media in 2020, with the deal closing in 2021.
  • Emails revealed in 2023 showed Hines expressing confusion over Microsoft's decision to make Bethesda titles Xbox exclusive.

The players

Pete Hines

The former marketing lead at Bethesda Softworks who retired in 2023 after over two decades with the company.

Todd Howard

A longtime game director and executive producer at Bethesda who Hines said "showed up" for him during the difficult period leading up to his retirement.

Erin Losi

A Bethesda colleague that Hines said he had to leave behind when he retired from the company.

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What they’re saying

“I just hit a point of yes, [Bethesda] needs me, and I am powerless to do what I think needs to be done to run this place properly, to protect these people, to maintain what we worked so hard to create, which is an incredibly efficient, well run video game developer and publisher.”

— Pete Hines, Former Bethesda Marketing Lead

“Every time Todd delayed Starfield, I thought, f**k, I'm here another eight months.”

— Pete Hines, Former Bethesda Marketing Lead

“And truthfully, I still think Bethesda is just part of something that is not authentic and is not genuine.”

— Pete Hines, Former Bethesda Marketing Lead

The takeaway

Hines' departure from Bethesda highlights the internal challenges and changing industry dynamics that the storied game publisher has faced in recent years, as it navigated a major corporate acquisition and grappled with controversies around game exclusivity and troubled launches. His comments suggest a sense of disillusionment with the direction of the company he had helped build over more than two decades.