“Everyone attacks the chicken in Riverwood”: Skyrim devs didn’t initially plan for the RPG’s farm animals to turn you into a most-wanted criminal, but it was “a bit funny”

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Most Skyrim players have, at some point, accidentally killed the famous chicken in Riverwood and been surprised by the strong reaction from the townspeople. Surprisingly, the developers at Bethesda Game Studios didn’t intentionally design this outcome – it just happened!

Matt Carofano, the lead artist on Skyrim from Bethesda, recently shared a story with Nintendo Life about a memorable quirk in the game. He explained that the developers noticed players immediately caused chaos by attacking the chicken in the starting town of Riverwood, triggering a wanted status. This wasn’t a planned feature, but a funny, defining moment for the development team.

We often joke about what happened, but it all came about because the game rules made attacking the chicken a crime. Since the chicken is considered part of the town, the townspeople naturally defended it. It started as an accident, and while it was amusing, it felt a little harsh. This made us rethink how rewarding or risky certain actions should be in the game, especially since it’s an open world where anything can happen.

Carofano explained that they spent a lot of time figuring out how much freedom to give players without breaking the game, and how easily they could fix things if something went wrong. He believes Skyrim’s truly special quality is its ability to surprise you – the way different game elements combine to create unexpected moments when you explore the world.

He jokingly describes how things often go wrong in these games – a huge problem arises, monsters appear, then a dragon shows up, leaving you thinking, ‘This wasn’t the plan!’ – but it somehow ends up being a great experience. As a long-time fan, I hope The Elder Scrolls 6 has a similarly dynamic world, though I do wonder if the villagers in Riverwood overreacted a bit to that missing chicken.

Without that glitch, we wouldn’t have one of the most beloved Skyrim memes. And after 14 years, it’s clear this meme is here to stay! So, a word of advice: if you encounter a flying chicken in the game, just keep moving.

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2025-12-11 14:41