Pete Hines is retiring from Bethesda after 24 years, will be taking “more time to enjoy life”

Pete Hines, Bethesda Softworks’ head of publishing, has announced that he’s stepping down from his role to retire, after 24 years at the company. 

In a statement posted to Twitter today (October 16), Hines noted that this wasn’t an easy decision for him to make, but “it feels like the time is right”. 

“After 24 years, I have decided my time at Bethesda Softworks has come to an end,” Hines wrote. “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 was 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.”

Continuing, Hines thanked fans for their support over the years, and reiterated that “this is certainly not goodbye”. He stated: “My love of Bethesda and its people has never wavered, and I will never stop being part of this incredible community we have grown.”

Wrapping the statement up, Hines said that his experience working alongside the teams and people at Bethesda “has been the greatest experience of my life”, and that he’s excited to see what the company does next. 

This announcement comes just days after it was confirmed that Microsoft (which owns Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media) has now officially acquired Activision Blizzard, after 20 months of scrutiny from regulators. In a statement released on Friday (October 13), Xbox boss Phil Spencer said: “Today we start the work to bring beloved Activision, Blizzard, and King franchises to Game Pass and other platforms. We’ll share more about when you can expect to play in the coming months. We know you’re excited – and we are too.”

For more games like Starfield, be sure to check out our lists of the best open-world games on PC and the best single-player games.