In a long interview, Bethesda’s Design Director, Todd Howard, has now given an outlook on when the release of The Elder Scrolls 6 could be. He mentions a possible timeframe of ’15 to 17 years’ after the release of Skyrim, which would place the release period for the new Elder Scrolls between 2026 and 2028.
What is the source of this information? The website GQ-Magazine has published a major special on the Xbox and its head, Phil Spencer. One of the accompanying interviewees was Todd Howard, the Design Director at Bethesda.
Howard Estimates Elder Scrolls 6 Release Between 2026 and 2028
What does Bethesda say about the release of The Elder Scrolls VI? In the article, there is a statement related to Howard’s comments:
Elder Scrolls VI, if you want to do the math, will likely be released around 15 to 17 years after Skyrim.
Since Skyrim was released in 2011, we are talking about a release period between 2026 and 2028.
This is significantly later than the ‘optimistic estimates’ from fans and gaming sites that were looking at 2024. Some had adjusted their expectations to ‘at the earliest 2026’ based on earlier statements from Spencer. Apparently, it could even take longer.
The statement is not a direct quote from Howard, but it is clearly associated with him in the article. The ‘calculation’ is that Starfield will be released in 2022 and that the team is apparently planning 4-6 years of development time for The Elder Scrolls 6, the next project.
The Elder Scrolls Exclusively for PC and Xbox
What does Phil Spencer say about Elder Scrolls 6? The head of Xbox says that Bethesda’s next game, Starfield, is set to be released in 2022. The game will be exclusively released for PC and Xbox. The same is seen by Phil Spencer for The Elder Scrolls 6 as well.
They want to utilize all features of the Xbox: Xbox Live, Game Pass, Cloud Gaming, friend lists, and save states.
Microsoft bought Bethesda in 2020 for 7.5 billion US dollars.
What else does Howard say about The Elder Scrolls 6? Not much more. According to Howard, the technology of Starfield is meant to develop the technology and next-gen features for The Elder Scrolls 6.
The internal expectations for The Elder Scrolls VI are high; after all, Skyrim was a ‘game for a decade.’ It would drive one crazy to feel that they now have to outdo Skyrim with Elder Scrolls VI.
However, players should be able to enjoy it for a long time. Bethesda wonders: How do you create a game when you go in with the idea that ‘people must play it for a decade’?
From the perspective of MMO players, it’s important:
