Todd Howard, one of gaming's most legendary developers, known for his work on Fallout 3 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is definitely one to look for when seeking good recommendations. After all, he has made some of the very best RPGs ever made and has helped produce titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. If you're looking for a strong RPG to add to your never-ending backlog, you'd expect he'd have some good opinions worth listening to.

However, while he has, in the past, shouted out a lot of great RPGs, including the progenitor of all RPGs, the Ultima series, he also has a lot of unique tastes. He isn't the only famous developer with unique tastes, but his may surprise a lot of people, especially when they learn that his most-played game of all time couldn't be further from the likes of Skyrim and other Bethesda-developed games. Of course, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and, honestly, I'm absolutely on Howard's side with this one.

Todd Howard's Most-Played Game Is NCAA Football

He Thinks They're The Best Sports Games

While many likely think that Todd Howard spends the majority of his time completing all of the best RPGs ever made, if only to inspire his own creative works, he is actually dedicated to a surprisingly different genre altogether. It turns out that Howard loves a good sports game. Specifically, he loves the NCAA Football series, which has since been rebooted as EA Sports College Football. Speaking to BAFTA, Howard explained that he'd put more hours into NCAA Football than any other series, telling them:

"My most-played game of all time, believe it or not, is probably the American football series. NCAA Football is a game I've probably put more hours into than any other game series."

One would expect that, especially during TES 6's development, Howard would be sinking hours upon hours into RPG classics, or even modern masterpieces like Baldur's Gate 3 and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. However, everyone has to unwind, and there may be no better way of doing that - at least for sports fans - than by playing a few matches in a game like NCAA Football. When asked by Lex Friedman on his Podcast, Howard explained that he prefers NCAA Football to Madden and thinks that NCAA Football 14 is the best in the series.

Of course, that was back in 2022 when NCAA Football 14 was the last entry in the series. It has since been rebooted with the addition of the surprisingly good College Football 25 and the College Football 26. Howard has yet to comment on those entries. Fortunately, for those less sports-inclined, Howard has played a plethora of other titles that aren't sports games. However, the one he says is the "perfect game" may surprise fans even more than his love of NCAA Football.

Todd Howard Thinks Tetris Is The "Perfect Game"

It Is Hard To Argue With Him

In that same BAFTA interview, Howard explained, perhaps unsurprisingly, that Ultima 7 is his favorite game of all time. For those not in the know, the Ultima series has gone on to inspire many generations of RPGs, including the likes of Skyrim and Baldur's Gate 3. It is one of the best classic RPG series, spawning nine games in total. However, Howard made a pretty significant distinction in that interview, stating that while Ultima 7 is his favorite game, he thinks the "best game of all time is actually Tetris."

He goes on to describe it as "the perfect video game." To Howard, Tetris is something that "you can only do as a video game". While one has to assume he hasn't seen the semi-recent biopic about its creation, he's definitely not wrong. There's something rather ingenious about Tetris' design and how utterly engrossing it can be. It was very much the Balatro of its day, and remains such now for a lot of people, evidently, Howard included. Of course, Todd Howard has a favorite Bethesda game, although even that may divide fans.

It is interesting to learn about the exceptionally varied tastes of developers and how they can ultimately inspire or influence the works they create. It is also fascinating to hear about what developers get up to in their own time and how, like us, they naturally love playing games no matter the genre. Ultimately, Howard's most played game is another great recommendation to add to our collective backlogs and gives fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim a potentially whole new genre to check out.

Source: BAFTA/YouTube, Lex Clips/YouTube