Bethesda Softworks

Background
Bethesda Softworks is a game developer and publisher founded in 1986 in Rockville, Maryland. In 1999, it was acquired by ZeniMax Media and since 2001, the name was used only for publishing with the special "Game Studios" brand opened for development. Since 2009, Bethesda also serves as a publisher for other studios owned by ZeniMax, including Id Software. In March 2021, Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media and all its subsidiaries, making them part of Xbox Game Studios.

1st Logo (1986-2000)
Logo: The name "BETHESDA SOFTWORKS" is written in a special font.

FX/SFX: Usually none, but games like Delta V have the logo spinning.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen on early games.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2000-2010)
Logo: The Bethesda logo is revealed letter-by-letter. It is colored in with the first letter being, and a superscript square to the left. The ZeniMax byline is wiped in below.

Variants:
 * From 2000-2001, a special animation was used with moving particles and transparent geometrical shapes, which formed the logo. This was seen on Sea Dogs and Magic & Mayhem II.
 * On IHRA Drag Racing, the letters zoom into the logo, with the background in white, which is then followed by the intro movie.
 * Sometimes, the logo is still. A colorless variant was spotted as well.

FX/SFX: Letters appearing.

Music/Sounds: A dreamy soundtrack.

Availability: Seen on many games, for example The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Editor's Note: None.

3rd Logo (October 19, 2010-)
Logo: There is a white holed cube running on a black field and stopping. Instantly, it all zooms out and the word "Bethesda" appears right to the cube, which turns 2D.

Variant: Occasionally, the colors are inverted.

FX/SFX: The cube rolling.

Music/Sounds: Several background sounds.

Availability: Appears on Brink, Dishonored, and Rage and continues to be shown on recent games under the Bethesda Softworks label, such as Wolfenstein: The New Order (along with its expansion The Old Blood and its sequel The New Colossus) and The Evil Within. The inverted version appears on the 2016 version of Doom, Hunted: The Demon's Forge, and The Elder Scrolls Online. Don't expect this to appear on recent Bethesda Game Studios titles such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4.

Editor's Note: None.

1st Logo (November 11, 2011)
Logo: On a black background, we see the metallic Bethesda Game Studios logo (which is a black-and-white footprint of a cog wheel, cut in half by the word "BETHESDA" and "GAME STUDIOS" below it) slightly zoom in as a light passes through it.

FX/SFX: Just the zoom and light.

Music/Sounds: A quiet dark ambiance sound.

Availability: Seen on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Editor's Note: None.

2nd Logo (2015-2018)
Logo: On a black and white "Please Stand By" test pattern, with the inner circle of the test pattern turning into a cog which reveals the texts "BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS" and then fading into static.

FX/SFX: The animation of the cog turning and the static, in the variant found in Fallout 76, the test pattern is in color.

Music/Sounds: Popping sounds and then static.

Availability: Was seen in Fallout 4 with a different variant of it being in Fallout 76 as well.

Editor's Note: None