Will Shen, who contributed Starfield has left Bethesda as lead quest designer 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.
Shen is a Bethesda veteran, with credits at The Elder Scrolls 5: SkyrimFallout 4, And Fallout 76. He was also the chief designer of Distant harboura creepy piece of story-driven DLC for Fallout 4, in which players had to navigate to the sinister island of Far Harbor to solve a tantalizing mystery.
Although a newcomer, Something Wicked Games is made up of a series of industry veterans, including CEO Jeff Gardiner, who co-founded the studio in 2022. Gardiner is also a Bethesda veteran, having spent more than 10 years at the studio with credits on titles ranging from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Unpleasant Fallout 4. In this way, it seems like Shen is a perfect fit for Something Wicked.
Something Wicked’s upcoming RPG Wyrdsong is still shrouded in mystery. But even at this early stage, we know the RPG will be set in medieval Portugal and revolve around the mythology of the Knights Templar.
Speaking to TRG, Gardiner outlined his goals around Wyrdsong and the new studio: “I wanted to create a safe space for creatives; that was my main goal. You do that by building trust, by letting people fail and not making them feel like they’ve done something wrong, by making people feel comfortable throwing a terrible idea into the room without any bad consequences.”
While the game currently has little more than an announcement trailer, it’s clear that with talents like Shen and Gardiner behind it, Wyrdsong could prove to be something special – perhaps earning a place among the best RPGs.
Want to play something immersive while we wait for more Wyrdsong news? Check out our list of the best single player games and our guide to the best story games.