It looked worse than Redfall when that game was released. There was a leaker at that time that said Starfield was absolutely no where close to a game and they hadn't even figured out how to make it fun at all when Redfall went out.
Howard has been a gold mine for Bethesda. Him, Pete Hines (the PR guy), and Emil (the only writer they employ) are the three amigos. Their games are cheap, modders will fix everything for them, and they've held strong to their money at any cost don't call it mtx ideals that rake in the loot.
Notice how they only have two IPs. Elder Scrolls and Fallout. They've been coasting on lore that was created before Oblivion and Fallout 3 for decades. That's why Starfield fails so hard, they had to actually come up with new ideas for once.
Plus they also know how to throw banging release parties complete with private concerts. You didn't get rid of that guy.
They are hard to find because they aren't credited exclusively as writers but I know Ferret Baudoin worked as a writer and senior developer for most Bethesda games, including Starfield.