Todd from Bethesda retires and almost confuses fans: no, it's not Howard.

The announcement of Todd Vaughn's retirement, senior vice president of development at Bethesda Softworks, caused confusion and momentary uproar among fans of the company. Many thought it was Todd Howard, director of games like Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Starfield, reigniting debates about his possible definitive departure from the industry.

Todd Vaughn officially concluded his journey of over 26 years at Bethesda, where he oversaw major milestones of the studio, such as the releases of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, the reboot of DOOM, and, more recently, the development of Oblivion Remastered. According to updated information on his LinkedIn profile, Vaughn is now a co-founder of a brewery - a new venture that could also inspire an RPG simulator, according to jokes on social media.

“I read too quickly; I saw ‘Bethesda,’ ‘Todd,’ and ‘retired.’ I almost had a heart attack,” commented a user on Reddit.

“They should never have let two Todds work there, very confusing,” joked another.

Meanwhile, the real Todd Howard remains active at Bethesda Game Studios, still involved with updates for Starfield and planning for The Elder Scrolls VI, scheduled for after 2026. In a previous interview, Howard had already hinted that the new Elder Scrolls could be his last game:

“Maybe I shouldn't say this. But if I do the math, I'm not getting any younger. How long do people play Elder Scrolls? It might be the last one I make, I don't know.”

The latest release from Bethesda was Starfield in 2023, which continues to receive constant updates. According to the team, "there are many new features planned for the game later this year."

The situation recalls the departure of other veteran figures in the industry, such as Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, who also recently left long-held positions.