Bethesda’s Todd Howard has caused speculation about The Elder Scrolls 6 during an interview with some statements. We take a look at what that might mean.
What did Todd Howard say? Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios, surprised during an interview with two interesting statements:
- The science fiction role-playing game Starfield is the next big project and will be released before TES 6, because The Elder Scrolls Online is currently performing well thanks to Elsweyr. This allows Bethesda to take their time for new, creative ideas and develop Starfield as a space role-playing game.
- The Elder Scrolls 6 is supposed to be an RPG that entertains players for at least 10 years when it is released in a few years. Here, Bethesda wants to orient itself to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, which is still running very well even around eight years after its release in 2011. According to Steamcharts, around 11,500 players are playing the Special Edition simultaneously, with a peak of over 19,800 players.
Bethesda has no reason to release TES 6 quickly
What does this mean for The Elder Scrolls 6? Bethesda currently has no rush to release the role-playing game quickly.
- Skyrim is still performing exceptionally well. The game is a hit again, even when it is released for a new platform, such as for the Nintendo Switch or as a VR game.
- The Elder Scrolls Online is currently very successful, as can be seen with the new addon Elsweyr. TES fans find a “second home” there. ESO is not only for MMORPG fans, single-player players can also have a lot of fun, as many of the contents can be completed solo.
Furthermore, there is a possibility that TES 6 and ESO would cannibalize each other. Many Elder Scrolls fans could turn their backs on the MMORPG if The Elder Scrolls 6 were to come out too early.
What can we expect from The Elder Scrolls 6? According to Todd Howard’s statement, we will likely experience something that is both oriented towards Skyrim, but the statement may also imply that we might additionally get some sort of successor to ESO.
Are we getting Skyrim 2.0?
What does the orientation towards Skyrim mean? Skyrim is an epic role-playing game of enormous proportions. You can sink hundreds of hours into it and still certainly not have seen and experienced everything.
Moreover, Skyrim has a diligent modding community. This community has been providing the game with content for years, such as new quests, graphical improvements, and many other mods.
Furthermore, Skyrim is repeatedly re-released, for example, when a new console like the Nintendo Switch comes out. New technologies like virtual reality are being utilized, and new versions are released for that.
Thus, The Elder Scrolls 6 could follow a similar path:
- The role-playing game offers a huge scope with hundreds of hours of gameplay
- The modding community will be supported again so that many mods can be released for TES 6
- Bethesda will re-release the game over time, possibly as a special edition or for new technologies and consoles.
Will TES 6 be an ESO successor?
How could TES 6 be a successor to ESO? It is quite possible that The Elder Scrolls will receive a multiplayer mode. However, that doesn’t mean it has to become an MMORPG right away. Many fans have been wishing for a long time to experience the adventures in a cooperative manner in a The Elder Scrolls setting.
Perhaps TES 6 will offer a way to play online with friends. There could be a kind of hub where players meet and form groups for quests.
We currently see a trend that wants to combine epic and exciting single-player experiences with multiplayer possibilities. Bioware wanted to try this, for example, with Anthem. Even Square Enix’s Avengers game seems to be going in this direction.
That’s why TES 6 must have single-player content: Bethesda must not neglect the single-player part. Because that is precisely what TES fans want. They want an epic single-player RPG. However, this does not mean that there cannot also be an online mode.
This could be seen as a kind of evolution of ESO. An evolution in terms of development in the online gaming field. Moving away from classic MMORPGs towards cooperative experiences that play like a single-player RPG.
However, it is also possible that TES 6 leads into an online world after the single-player story, which will then be supplied with new content for at least 10 years.
The fact is, with TES 6 we will get a role-playing game that we will be able to play for a long time in one way or another. But it will still take a while until the RPG is released because Bethesda has no reason to rush the game’s release due to the success of Skyrim and ESO.
