Microsoft awarded Todd Howard a 1,000-Gamerscore achievement exclusive in 2016 and we now know what it was

You will never be able to get at least one Xbox Achievement. It was made specifically for Bethesda's creative chief Todd Howard and no one else can have it. After years of secrecy we can finally see what it is, thanks to the discovery made by the achievement tracker website TrueAchievements via GamesRadar.

The story starts in 2016, when Howard received a Lifetime Achievement Award from GDC. In his acceptance speech (which he reminisced in a post he wrote after Microsoft announced their acquisition of Bethesda, in 2020), he jokedly asked how many achievement points were worth a Lifetime Achievement Award.

"At the end, some friends from Microsoft congratulated and said that they would find out," Howard wrote. "A few months after that, I was given the code to a video game they created. It was named after me and it was locked to my account. When ran, it unlocks a single achievement--'Lifetime - 1000pts.' It's still on my list, and I smile each time I check it."

Xbox.com has the game, but it is not available to download or purchase. The achievement text was kept secret until TrueAchievement discovered it. The achievement, called "Lifetime," "Reflects the amazing craft of Todd Howard's team in making the worlds as real on Earth as any other."

I was a bit confused when I first looked up the achievement because it still showed as "secret" and without the reported descriptions. TrueAchievements' representative explained that this is the nature of their site. By default, the website does not display unlocked achievement descriptions for people who haven't achieved them. Since no one except Todd Howard has achieved this one, only Todd Howard can see it.

To bypass this cheevo secret layer, select "site settings" in your account settings. Then, enable the "always display unlocked achievement descriptions". It's there.

Isn't that a nice gesture? The response to this newly-revealed accomplishment has been positive. Naturally, because it's the internet, some users have posted guides on how to unlock this achievement. Some are very detailed, like the one from Cpl Kane, which requires facial reconstructive surgery, a potential murder, and a time machine. Others, like paramoreRyan, are more direct: "Be Todd Howard."

We can't be all like Todd Howard but we can admit that he deserves his own custom cheevo. Howard's credits are impressive to say the least. They include The Terminator: Future Shock, Morrowind and Oblivion in 1995, as well as Fallout 3, Skyrim and Fallout 4. Howard is currently working as an executive producer on the highly anticipated Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. We also hope that he will squeeze in some time to work on The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5.