Todd Howard has expressed agreement with fans of Bethesda’s epic RPG series who wish thatThe Elder Scrolls 6would hurry up already. Though the latest award-winning entry in the franchise still has an active community and is considered one of thegreatest open-world games of all time,Skyrimrecently turned 11 years old, having released in the archaic year of 2011.
Despite ateaser trailer forThe Elder Scrolls 6premiering in 2018, there have since been almost no updates from Bethesda about the elusive and highly anticipated game. In the years following, other franchises have released not one but two new entries, likeGod of Warand its recently launched follow-upRagnarok, Assassin’s Creed OdysseyandValhalla,andMarvel’s Spider-ManandMiles Morales.Meanwhile, fans ofThe Elder Scrollshave been busily creating all kinds of mods to extend the lives ofOblivionandSkyrim.
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In Lex Fridman’s November 29 podcast,BethesdaDirector Todd Howard revealed that he, too, wishes that the next entry in the long-lived franchise were here already. The episode begins with Fridman telling Howard to “blink once if you know whenElder Scrolls 6is coming out but are not going to tell me.” The developer responded, “I have a vague idea” and then began laughing. The discussion aboutThe Elder Scrolls 6begins at timestamp 1:16:42.
During the interview, Howard expanded upon his initial response by clarifying that Bethesda “wants [the games] out too and I wish they didn’t take as long as they did.” The developer also stated that, if he could go back in time, it would never have been his plan to wait this long for another game. Howard pointed out that he has spent more time in the world ofThe Elder Scrollsthan “anything else in my life probably” and acknowledged that he misses it. “I deeply love it. We [at Bethesda] all do. It’s a part of us.”
Howard’s professed uncertainty about when the next game in the franchise might make its appearance runs counter to recent speculation that some third parties are already privy to that information. During its investigation into Microsoft’s pending acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority shared a document that had the game’s release date redacted. This led some to theorize that theUK government knows the release date ofThe Elder Scrolls 6.
Either way, it seems like it will be quite a while before information about the nextElder Scrollstitle is made public. Bethesda is busy adding some polish to itssci-fi adventure gameStarfield, which is expected sometime in the first half of 2023. There’s alsoFallout 5somewhere on the distant horizon, although Howard has stated in the past that development of that game won’t begin until afterThe Elder Scrolls 6is complete.
The Elder Scrolls 6is currently in development.
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