The first Elder Scrolls had a rough launch: 'It was a disaster in a lot of ways and somehow built a billion-dollar franchise'

The Elder Scrolls: Arena struggled to sell copies when it hit shelves in 1994, with game stores cancelling orders after late shipments, designer Ted Peterson recalled. Bethesda president Christopher Weaver told PC Gamer in November 1995 that nobody believed a studio known for sports games could break into RPGs. Word of mouth eventually helped Arena turn Bethesda into an RPG studio and build a billion-dollar franchise.