The Elder Scrolls 6 – 14 Things You May Not Know

You might think there isn’t a lot of official information out there regarding The Elder Scrolls VI, and you’d be right to an extent. Much of what’s out there is rumour, pieced together from various interviews and previews that have surfaced since The Elder Scrolls VI’s announcement trailer back in 2018. Many of the points in the feature have weight to them, some are tenuous at best. But, with official information sorely lacking it’s fun in the meantime to speculate.

2026 earliest possible release date

Back in 2023 a document tied to Microsoft’s legal tussle with the FTC surfaced, and in said documents were a few choice wads of information relating to The Elder Scrolls VI’s release window. It didn’t come as much of a surprise back then to learn that the release was still a few years off, with 2026 cited as the earliest possible release date for Bethesda’s long-awaited RPG follow-up.

Phil Spencer reckons it’ll release 2028

However, contrary to 2023’s FTC versus Microsoft documentation Xbox’s Phil Spencer went on record during the trial in 2023 to state The Elder Scrolls VI is still five years away, putting its potential release date back to 2028. Things, of course, can change in time, so it’s worth pointing out at this junction the theme of this article is that these rumours may or may not come to fruition. After all, The Elder Scrolls VI’s 2026 release date was argued by one of Microsoft’s lawyers in court during the same FTC hearing so if we’re going to opt for any release date with the most likelihood, we’ll go for that one.

Official release date coming 6 months before launch

This one comes from former Bethesda developer Bruce Nesmith who spoke to MinnMax in late-2023. Nesmith, who worked as Skyrim’s lead designer states The Elder Scrolls VI’s release cycle will follow Fallout 4’s exactly in that we won’t hear anything official about its release date until six months before. Now, Nesmith left Bethesda in 2021 so again his opinion is subject to change, but during his conversation with MinnMax he reckons the six-month window is Todd Howard’s preferred timeframe, and that he believes developers who announce release dates too early shoot themselves in the foot given the constant chance of games suffering delays.

It’ll be Xbox and PC only

Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax media for a not-in-exorbitant sum it stands to reason Microsoft will want to keep their most anticipated releases to their own platforms, so whilst we’ve had no official confirmation yet we can expect The Elder Scrolls VI to release exclusively to Xbox and Windows. In fact, going further, the FTC versus Microsoft documentation outright ruled out a PlayStation version.

However, there is a glimmer of hope for PlayStation

A lot has changed in the year-plus since this FTC versus Microsoft documentation. Perhaps unthinkable at one stage was Microsoft’s current plans to export their formally platform-exclusive titles to other hardware. The games they’ve shipped to Sony and Nintendo aren’t of the same scale as The Elder Scrolls, of course, but it does provide a glimmer of hope to other platforms that The Elder Scrolls VI appearing on other platforms cannot be totally ruled out. Furthermore, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was once believed to be exclusive to Microsoft but presently it’s slated to appear as a timed exclusive, the game set to release to PlayStation 5 in Spring 2025.

It will be on Game Pass

In a rumour that will surprise exactly no-one, The Elder Scrolls VI will be available day one on Game Pass. In fact, it’s not really a rumour, is it? This tidbit has been common knowledge since all the way back in 2020 when Bethesda’s Todd Howard was in discussion with GameIndustry.biz, in a conversation that was mostly centred on Starfield but did include a comment about The Elder Scrolls VI whereby Howard stated both RPGs will be available to Game Pass subscribers at no extra cost.

It’ll be set in Hammerfall

Pure speculation from Eurogamer Deputy Editor Chris Tapsell here but back in 2021 the site published a comprehensive piece on The Elder Scrolls VI’s location, with Hammerfall being where they believe the game will be set. The article makes for thorough reading, but the summarising assumptions are that the game’s brief trailer hints at a location and that the game’s timeline will at least be close to events that’ve occurred in the series’ prior entries. We agree to an extent with Tapsell though; the location in the trailer is most likely a clue as to the game’s location. The environ we float over is dry, arid, rocky; the city we see is coastal. Through process of elimination, study of topography and city placement, Eurogamer decide on Hammerfall. They make a good case, and the article is well worth digging out.

Alternatively, Starfield holds the clue to location

Starfield previewed a teaser trailer back at the Microsoft and Bethesda E3 Showcase 2022, and an ultra-observant user on Reddit posted what they believed to be a map of The Elder Scrolls VI’s location etched into the console of a starship. It’s quite a stretch to be honest, the doodle definitely appearing deliberately placed but not looking especially similar to the Redditer’s claim it’s a drawing of Lilac Bay, the body of water between Hammerfall and High Rock. That said, this location would align with Eurogamer’s best guess, it’s just the etching – deliberate it may be – doesn’t look like anything we see on a map of Tamriel.

It’s being built on Bethesda’s own game engine

Another tidbit from Todd Howard. During an interview with UK-based newspaper The Telegraph in June 2021 we learned that The Elder Scrolls VI will run on Bethesda’s own Creation Engine 2. Going further, Howard states that while Starfield runs on this engine it was specifically created for both. There’re customisations and additions unique to The Elder Scrolls VI though, but yep as always we don’t know a hell of a lot more than that.

Playable early builds exist

And what’s more, they’ve been playable for most of 2024, if a swift sentence in Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 30^th anniversary tweet is anything to go by. Nestled towards the end of their celebratory statement reads the following: “yes, we are in development on the next chapter – The Elder Scrolls VI. Even now, returning to Tamriel and playing early builds has filled us with the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure.”

Todd Howard reckons it’ll be played and replayed for longer than Skyrim

Yes, Todd Howard was at it again five years ago. During a video interview with IGN, Howard declared his vision for The Elder Scrolls VI was for it to be played and replayed for a longer timeframe than Skyrim’s then eight-year run. Skyrim is still massively popular now nearly thirteen years out from its initial launch, so should Todd be wanting to stick to that statement the gauntlet has well and truly been laid.

Shared lore responsibilities

In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun earlier this year Elder Scrolls Online director Matt Firor stated that lore responsibilities for The Elder Scrolls VI were being shared equally between his team at ZeniMax Online Studios and the developers at Bethesda working directly on the sequel. It’s evidence of mass collaboration, which – if done right – will ensure a richer, more consistent backstory when the game finally comes out.

Skyrim magic system will continue

Back to former Bethesda developer Bruce Nesmith and a podcast interview with MinnMax where he stated that Skyrim’s magic system and specifically how players upgrade magic will absolutely continue into The Elder Scrolls VI. He goes on to say that there will be new concepts to deal with how you level up too, and we don’t expect magic to function exactly the same as in Skyrim but Nesmith’s comments are coming direct from source (before he left Bethesda, that is).

The game will support mods (OBVIOUSLY!)

In another one of Todd Howard’s video interviews from back in 2022, the Bethesda director stated to Lex Friedman that The Elder Scrolls VI will support mods. It’s another one of those least surprising revelations, but it does give us a clue into how Todd expects players to be playing The Elder Scrolls VI for ten or twenty years after release.

---