Ex-Bethesda Dev on Leaving AAA Games: “It’s Less Stressful”

Nate Purkeypile, the founder of Just Purkey Games, has had quite a journey in the gaming industry. Before going solo, he contributed to games like BloodRayne 2, Aeon Flux, and Metroid Prime 3. He then spent 14 years at Bethesda Game Studios, working as a lead artist and world artist on major titles such as Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76.

During the development of Starfield, Purkeypile made the bold move to leave Bethesda and start his own independent studio. In an interview with PC Gamer, he opened up about what it was like transitioning from a massive development team of over 500 people to working almost entirely solo on his latest game, The Axis Unseen.

When asked if he ever had second thoughts after leaving Bethesda, Purkeypile didn’t hesitate. “No,” he said with a laugh. He admitted that while indie development comes with financial uncertainty, the experience has been far less stressful. One of the biggest reliefs, he shared, was escaping the endless meetings, office politics, and long approval processes that come with big-budget game development.

Even vacations at Bethesda didn’t really feel like time off. “You come back to thousands of emails, and it just feels like you pushed work down the road,” he said. The high-pressure nature of triple-A development meant that stepping away never really felt like a break.

Purkeypile developed The Axis Unseen almost entirely on his own, contracting out help for writing, music, and some artwork while handling the world-building, animation, and creature design himself. Having complete creative control allowed him to focus purely on making the game rather than navigating the complexities of a large studio environment.

Despite loving the freedom of indie development, he still values the talented people he worked with at Bethesda. While he has no plans to return to a major studio, he’s open to working with former colleagues who have also moved on to new ventures.

The Axis Unseen

Released in October last year on PC via Steam, The Axis Unseen, a "heavy metal horror" hunting game, has struggled to find a solid player base. At its peak, the game reached only 86 concurrent players, and recent data shows that there are currently no active players. While the game reflects Purkeypile’s artistic vision, its limited reach highlights the tough reality of breaking through as an indie developer in today’s crowded gaming market.