Bethesda director explains why Shadowdrops have become a thing

As a gamer, few things, if any, are better than hearing the words, “It's available now,” aka the legendary Shadowdrop. We've seen it happen many times in gaming history this year, perhaps most famously with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered, which dropped in April and quickly took over our collective lives.

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As it turns out, there's a reason why “shadowdrops” have become so popular in recent years. Sure, video game developers and publishers love the instant popularity bump, but more than anything, it has more to do with our inability to focus on things.

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In an interview with GamesRadar, Bethesda Game Studios Director Tom Mustaine explained the two-pronged approach his studio takes when it comes to releasing things on the day they're announced.

“Todd Howard, the owner man, he's wanted to shadowdrop things for a long time because it's great to be able to say, 'Here's the thing, get it today.' It's very valuable,” Mustaine said.

However, that is only part of the decision. Because the other half has to do with how bad we all are at focus.

“We all have shorter attention spans now,” Mustain said. “For example, there's Grand Theft Auto. I want that today, don't you? So it's an interesting strategy… I have no idea what's going to happen next, but I hope it's not the last. Personally, I think it was great to own the Internet for that day and, you know, give people what they want when we talk about it. I'm personally a fan of people who love it so much to see it.”

If brain rot is to blame for getting games right after they're announced, don't count me among the complainers. I love a good Shadowdrop, even though my wallet hates it.

Grand Theft Auto is almost certainly the only game that could Shadowdrop and possibly still make the same amount it was slated for. Things get a lot scarier when games rely on months-long marketing beats and have other obligations to fulfill. Fallout 4 is probably the best example of a happy medium since it was released a few months later. Not exactly a shadowdrop, but not years away either.

What's more, well, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition managed to shadowdrop for the Nintendo Switch a few days ago, although I doubt anyone counted the game from 2013 as part of the whole event.