Prior to the game's release, a picture of the game's main menu was leaked online. The simplicity of the menu led to Mark Kern (the former lead developer of World of Warcraft) accusing the team behind Starfield of not caring for their work, merely rushing through to hit deadlines. This was met with backlash from fans, with many pointing out that the menu design was standard for Bethesda titles. Bethesda employee Pete Hines later criticized Kern for being unprofessional, and further reiterated that the menu design was a standard for the studio.