Cliff Notes – The Elder Scrolls 6 is still on the way – here’s what we know so far
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Long Development Timeline: Announced in June 2018, The Elder Scrolls 6 has faced a lengthy development period, with active production starting in 2023 and playable builds expected by March 2024.
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Release Date Uncertainty: No official release date has been set, but Microsoft documents suggest a launch could occur in 2026 or later, with some estimates pushing it to 2028.
- Setting and Gameplay Rumours: While the setting remains undisclosed, speculation points to Hammerfell and High Rock, with potential gameplay features including dragons, naval battles, and an explorative archipelago influenced by various cultures.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is still on the way – here’s what we know so far
We’re still clinging to a logo seven years later (Bethesda)
Bethesda’s sequel to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has been in development for years, but several rumours have teased what to expect.
It’s been 14 years since The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim first appeared in 2011, and since then Bethesda has done everything but release a sequel.
Aside from putting Skyrim on every platform under the sun, the studio has released Fallout 4, Fallout 76, several The Elder Scrolls spin-offs, and a new sci-fi IP in 2023’s Starfield. Just recently, Bethesda also launched a remastered version of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, presumably as a stop-gap for the next mainline instalment.
For many who are still playing Skyrim, and now Oblivion Remastered, The Elder Scrolls 6 is probably one of the most anticipated games of the decade. If you’re craving some kind of solace during the long wait for its release, we’ve assembled everything we know about Bethesda’s pivotal sequel.
When was The Elder Scrolls 6 first announced?
Incredibly, The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced way back on June 10, 2018 at Bethesda’s E3 event that year. Nothing was shown apart from a teaser trailer which showed off the logo, and a nondescript landscape. At the time, the game’s director, Todd Howard, warned it would be ‘a very long way off’, and he wasn’t lying.
Since then, we’ve heard small updates on the game’s progress. The Elder Scrolls 6 entered active production at Bethesda in 2023, following the release of Starfield, and it was playable via early builds in March 2024.
As confirmed in a Telegraph interview with Todd Howard, the long-awaited sequel will also run on Bethesda’s Creation Engine 2, the same engine used for Starfield (so, yes, that probably means the facial animation will still be bad).
Is there a release date?
Bethesda has not announced a release date for The Elder Scrolls 6. However, according to Microsoft documents in the Federal Trade Commission case from 2023, the sequel is ‘expected 2026 or later’.
This was immediately put into question when Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said it would be ‘five+ years away’ in an interview in the same year – which suggests it wouldn’t be out until 2028 at the earliest and, at that point, presumably on the next generation of consoles.
Considering we’ve seen no actual footage of The Elder Scrolls 6, it’s safe to say it will probably launch at some point after 2026 – unless Bethesda is planning the biggest surprise shadowdrop of all time.
What is the setting?
Bethesda hasn’t revealed the setting, but rumours point to it either being Hammerfell and/or the neighbouring region of High Rock. Each mainline entry is named after an existing area within the fictional world of Tamriel, which is made up of nine provinces, and these two areas have not received their own mainline game yet.
As for the gameplay, several rumours suggest dragons will be involved, along with naval battles, ship customisation, and underwater exploration. A leak from an alleged Bethesda environment designer suggests it will have Egyptian, Mediterranean and north African influences too in an ‘explorable archipelago’.
Will it be an Xbox exclusive?
While Bethesda hasn’t confirmed if The Elder Scrolls 6 will be exclusive to Xbox, following Microsoft’s acquisition of the studio, documents released in 2023, as part of the FTC case, suggest that was the original plan.
However, Xbox’s strategy has changed quite drastically since then, with many Microsoft-published games now arriving on other platforms either at launch or just after.
For example, Doom: The Dark Ages is set to launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox, and PC simultaneously in May 2025, while Indiana Jones And The Great Circle arrived on PlayStation 5 just four months after it launched on Xbox and PC.
Bethesda’s last major role-playing title, Starfield, has remained an Xbox exclusive for nearly two years though, so there’s no clear rule at the moment.
While it’s unclear if this multi-platform drive could reverse as we approach Microsoft’s next console, based on its current strategy it seems unlikely The Elder Scrolls 6 will remain an Xbox exclusive for long – if at all.
Skyrim is almost 15 years old (Bethesda)
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