Will Shen

Will Shen, former lead quest designer for Bethesda's Starfield who worked on other games from the studio, such as Fallout 3, Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, joined Something Wicked games to work on the studio's first open-world RPG.

During a talk at the Game Developers Conference 2024 in San Francisco, Starfield lead quest designer Will Shen discussed the title’s ending, explaining that it was created out of “necessity and urgency.”

's lead quest designer has explained why the ending was so underwhelming for many. Prior to its launch, Bethesda marketed the game as being an epic space adventure, spanning over 1000 planets, and while it was extremely well received by critics at launch, its popularity soon seemed to dwindle with players, with complaints that many planets seemed empty and ultimately, there wasn't as much to do as they wanted.

Speaking at the Game Developers Conference earlier this week, Starfield lead quest designer Will Shen said that he had "no time" when it came to designing the last main quest.

According to the game's lead quest designer, Starfield hit the «panic button» in order to finish its final quest in time for the September 6, 2023 launch date. Starfield has over 1000 planets for players to explore, but the final one in the game, Masada 3, was designed extremely last-minute during the development process.

Starfield's action-packed ending came together in a last-minute scramble after the developers realized that the RPG was lacking a satisfying finale.

Something Wicked Games has reportedly laid off «most of» its staff, according to a handful of people impacted.

Will Shen, who worked on Starfieldas lead quest designer, has left Bethesda to join Something Wicked Games. In his new role, Shen will be the lead content designer on the studio's first game, the open-world fantasy RPG Wyrdsong. 

As Starfield developers begin to depart Bethesda after the release of the studio's massive RPG, some fans are despondently casting their minds forward to the eventual departure of studio lead Todd Howard.

Pete Hines isn’t the only major departure from Bethesda Softworks. Will Shen, lead quest designer and design director on Starfield, has also announced that he’s leaving the studio. He’ll join Something Weird Games, a studio of former talent from BioWare, Bethesda and Obsidian Entertainment, to work on Wyrdsong, their debut RPG.

One of Bethesda's senior developers, Will Shen, who served as the lead quest designer on Starfield, has joined studio Something Wicked Games, which was co-founded by former Bethesda project lead Jeff Gardiner.

Something Wicked Games' stable of notable ex-Bethesda developers is gaining a new member. Will Shen, former design director on Starfield and veteran of Bethesda going all the way back to Fallout 3, is joining the all-remote studio as the lead content designer of Wyrdsong.

After a long career at Bethesda, Starfield lead quest designer Will Shen has left the studio and joined Something Wicked Games, where he'll serve as lead content designer on its first game, the open-world RPG Wyrdsong.

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As I wrapped up the Freestar Rangers questline in Starfield, a system-hopping detective romp that I thoroughly recommend to players starting out, my eyes drifted to the United Colonies Vanguard quest I'd neglected starting two dozen hours earlier. Would the Vanguard still want my company after I'd climbed the ranks of their biggest competition? Surely they'd at least give me the stink eye as I approached the help desk dressed in full Freestar cowboy getup, I thought.

Starfield has finally gone gold ahead of its release next month, indicating that main development on the game has ended and that it's ready to hit store shelves soon. As such, developer Bethesda has confirmed preload details for its expansive space-set RPG, with Xbox Series S/X receiving early treatment on August 17. Meanwhile, PC players on Steam can begin pre-installing the game in anticipation, starting August 30. Additionally, the game will be available to play for free to those who're subscribed to Xbox Game Pass, though access for them will begin on launch day i.e., September 6.

One of the highlights of the Starfield Direct was the reveal of the narrative campaign, which gives you a clear direction on what you are to do on the Settled Systems.

Bethesda has started speaking up about the minute details to expect from Starfield. This one may have been something gamers had forgotten about, but is definitely going to be something they’ll want to know about.

Remember last month, when Bethesda put out a series of animated Starfield shorts that, presumably, contained some kind of important narrative content? I've kind of glossed over that stuff, because all I paid attention to were the battling mechs it showed off: Bipedal, human-operated war suits caked in grease and diesel that look incredibly cool as they pummel the hell out of one another. It led me, and plenty of others, to ask if we might get a shot at piloting these titans ourselves when Starfield finally releases.

Starfield’s release date is fast approaching, and two of the game’s developers have now revealed a bunch more details about the space RPG in a Q&A session in the official Bethesda Studios Discord server.

Two of Starfield‘s lead designers have shared more information on the game’s story and gameplay.

Bethesda’s Starfield is confirmed to be a massive experience, with over 1000 planets to explore and survey, more than 20 companions to recruit, star ships to build (and steal), and more. However, there are some things it won’t have, like fishing or planet-side mounts and vehicles. Unfortunately, a 100 percent pacifist playthrough isn’t quite possible.

In a Q&A to celebrate Starfield's symbolic «gone gold» milestone (which has been reposted to the subreddit), lead quest designer Will Shen was asked if entirely non-lethal playthroughs will be possible in Bethesda's space RPG. They won't be, although Shen says that Bethesda did consider the possibility of supporting pacifist playthroughs early in development.

A bunch of new Starfield details were revealed during a developer Q&A, including the fact that you can buy homes and smuggle contraband.

Starfield is just a few weeks away, and Bethesda is going all out to try and get everyone excited for launch. After releasing a complete timeline of the game's history to pour over, Starfield lead designer Emil Pagliarulo and lead quest designer Will Shen took to the game's Discord channel to hold a Q&A. Because of this, we now have a bunch more info about Starfield to sink our teeth into, including the reveal that the game will have over 20 companions that you can recruit and travel around with.

Bethesda Game Studios has spoken before about companions in Starfield and how only four (all from Constellation) support full quest lines. However, in a recent Discord Q&A (transcription via Reddit), designer Emil Pagliarulo and design director Will Shen revealed there are more than 20 named characters.

Lest you still be carrying worries about a really last-minute delay, you can now rest easy: Bethesda has announced that its upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield has officially gone gold. To mark the big moment, lead designer Emil Pagliarulo and lead quest designer Will Shen held a Q&A session on the Bethesda Discord.

Bethesda’s Starfield recently went gold, and preloading starts on August 17th for Xbox Series X/S and PC players on the Windows Store. While new information is pending, designer Emil Pagliarulo and design director Will Shen held a Q&A on Discord (transcription via Reddit) to answer several questions from fans.

As the release date for Starfield draws near, Bethesda Game Studios recently held a Q&A on its Discord server where Starfield's Lead Quest Designer Will Shen and Lead Designer Emil Pagliarulo answered 16 questions fans had about the upcoming sci-fi action RPG.

On August 16, 2023, Lead Quest Designer Will Shen and Lead Designer Emil Pagliarulo answered some of fans’ most burning Starfield questions in the form of a Q&A on the official Bethesda Game Studios Discord server.

Hold onto your warp nacelles and hyperdrives, Starfield aficionados. The game's lead designer Emil Pagliarulo and lead quest designer Will Shen have hosted a Discord Q&A about Bethesda's forthcoming space colossus. Self-despising fool that I am, I sat up late at the office taking notes throughout - please accept a modest avalanche of new details.

In the run-up to Starfield's launch, two lead devs from Bethesda took to Discord to hold a little Q&A answering questions sourced from hopeful fans, and the resulting info dump also came with a helpful bit of advice: "Don't get caught with those harvested organs." Just like my grandpa used to say.

If you’ve been following Bethesda for the past few years, you know that they are hard at work with their next big RPG, Starfield. It’s gained a massive following as fans knew that this title would be landing for the next-generation platforms at the time of its announcement. Of course, since then, we found that Bethesda came under the Xbox umbrella after Microsoft picked up ZeniMax Media. So now this game is set to be a Microsoft exclusive, which means it’s only releasing for the PC and Xbox Series X/S platforms.

Bethesda has confirmed a few details about how Starfield player homes will work in a new fan Q&A. In short, you'll be able to purchase someplace to live in every major city in the game, and other options will be available if you complete certain questlines.

The Starfield developers have revealed a few more details about the companions that can join you in-game, including the fact that there are over 20 named characters for you to recruit.

Starfield will let you talk your way out of a lot of trouble, but the devs say a true pacifist run of the spacefaring RPG isn't "totally feasible."

Bethesda is hosting a Starfield Q&A soon, so get your questions in now.

With less than a month to go for Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield and pre-loads reportedly going live today, there seems a dearth of new information on the massive sci-fi RPG. Perhaps to address that, the official Twitter for the game has announced a Q&A with designer Emil Pagliarulo and design director Will Shen. It takes place on August 16th at 1 PM ET.