Bethesda not developing for the Wii U due to hardware limitations

With Bethesda's upcoming AAA game lineup, including The Elder Scrolls Online, Wolfenstein: The New Order, and The Evil Within, all skipping out on Wii U platform launches, one might wonder where all of the third party support for Nintendo's console is going. Bethesda's VP of PR and marketing Pete Hines told Joystiq, "None of the games we've announced are being developed for the Wii U, so it's guaranteed that none of those games are coming to Wii U." He also added, "Will any future ones come out? I can't say for sure; in our near-term focus, it's not on our radar."

Hines said, "It's largely a hardware thing" and that Bethesda is making the games it wants to make, on the systems that will support their games. This isn't the end of the Wii U's troubles. Other companies are limiting their releases on the Wii U platform because of the system's poor performance at retail. For instance, EA has passed on bringing this year's FIFA and Madden to the console, and Ubisoft needed to delay the Rayman Legends release because the Wii U's installed user base alone isn't sufficient and the game has been expanded to other platforms. As it pertains to Bethesda and Nintendo's console, Hines said, "It remains to be seen what the future holds."

Lorenzo Veloria

Many years ago, Lorenzo Veloria was a Senior Editor here at 12DOVE helping to shape content strategy. Since then, Lorenzo has shifted his attention to Future Plc's broader video game portfolio, working as a Senior Brand Marketing Manager to oversee the development of advertising pitches and marketing strategies for the department. He might not have all that much time to write about games anymore, but he's still focused on making sure the latest and greatest end up in front of your eyes one way or another.