Bethesda QA beats Skyrim in 2hrs 16 mins

A Bethesda QA tester has set the early pace for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim speed runs, completing the forthcoming RPG epic in an impressive two hours and 16 minutes.

As detailed over on the Bethesda Blog, a representative from Bethesda QA - Sam Bernstein - took on a rep from the development team - Jeff Browne - in a speed run contest to celebrate the game heading off to retail.

Bernstein finished the game's main quest in a time of 2:16:10 - just 20 seconds faster than Browne. No cheats were permitted, and apparently both contestants took a different route through the game.

Bernstein's prize? A modest trophy, pictured below, and a pie of their choice baked by director Todd Howard.

The blog post was at pains to point out that it might take the average player rather longer to polish the game off - "our developers have years of experience under their belts and know all the ins and outs for speeding through the game."

The pre-release speed run face-off seems to be becoming a Bethesda tradition. In an identical contest held before Fallout 3 went out into the wild, Bernstein again pipped Browne to the prize, wrapping up the game in just 75 minutes.