In the weeks since the PlayStation 3 version of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released, it has become clear that something is badly wrong . Now the game's publisher Bethesda faces some tough questions, which it must face without delay, and with absolute clarity and frankness. Serious accusations from frustrated fans are growing in volume; that the company knew there was a problem before it released the game.

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Trust in the Bethesda brand, one of the most beloved in the business, has been damaged by the company's release of a sub-par product. Doubts must now be raised as to Skyrim's Here's what's been going on. PlayStation 3 players with larger save files of Skyrim - for example, those who have played the game in excess of 60 hours - have reported significant slow-down , almost to the point of unplayability. Media sites have visually demonstrated the problem of

large saved games set against much faster virgin games

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. Experts who understand the PlayStation 3's architecture have weighed in on why the problem exists and why it may ultimately be unfixable in such a huge, open world. Players on Xbox 360 and PC versions have also experienced some problems , though not at the scale being reported for PS3.Bethesda released Patch 1.2 , which the company says "improves occasional performance issues resulting from long term play." More fixes are promised , but details are thin.But the clue to the firm's nervousness about this crisis is in its official response. The word "occasionally" is in stark contrast to the ubiquity of complaints online, and various polls that suggest problem-rates as high as 36 percent. Of course, we can't know how many people are experiencing problems, another opportunity for Bethesda to add clarity to a confused situation.IGN has reached out to Bethesda for comment. We want to know how this happened, how it can be fixed and, most crucially, if the company knew about the problem before it released the game to a public eager to drop $60 on what was arguably the most eagerly anticipated title of 2011. As of Noon, Monday (Pacific) we have received no response.We have also reached to out to Sony Computer Entertainment America. We want to know how long the Quality Assurance guys spent playing the game, if they came across the problem, and what correspondence they shared with Bethesda on any lag issues on large game saves. We have received no reply, as yet.When IGN reviewed Skyrim, it's surely significant that we were given free access to the Xbox 360 and PC versions prior to launch, but had to buy a PS3 copy from retail after it was released to the world. We are currently playing large-save files across a variety of PlayStation 3 models and will be publishing a follow up story.The most important issue for Bethesda's many fans is whether or not the company knew there might be a problem. We cannot say for sure, but it seems inconceivable to us that no-one at the company came across these problems while play-testing the PS3 version.There is no doubt whatsoever that the pressure to release across all platforms at the same time would have been immense, and that a delay to fix specific problems with one version would have been extremely damaging to the game's retail performance. Therefore, for Bethesda, Sony and their powerful retailer partners, there was a clear and significant motive in getting the game out on November 11.We all understand that big games like Skyrim, or Bethesda's own previous hits like Fallout 3 or Oblivion, can come with quirks and bugs. It's part of the reason why we find these worlds so charming. We also understand that the talent that goes into creating these worlds is immense. But there is a big difference between a backwards flying dragon , and a game that is running so slowly that it's just no fun to play.And it's even more damaging that the very people who are most affected by this problem are those who have invested the most time into the game.This is why Bethesda owes the world a full explanation, the sooner, the better.

Colin Campbell is Head of News & Features at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter