Bethesda has been following a pretty strict and pretty great release schedule this generation. They announce a game, and within months, that game is released to the awaiting masses in all its final glory. This E3, though, they changed things up a little bit. Not only did they announce Starfield, a game which they said very clearly is scheduled for a next generation launch (which means it’s at least two or three years away), they also confirmed that they’re working on The Elder Scrolls VI, and that that will be out even after Starfield.
And while that might make it seem like the game’s at least half a decade away, with its potential release window completely up in the air, that may not necessarily be the case- or so Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard claims. Speaking to GameSpot, Howard confirmed that Elder Scrolls 6 is in the “very early” stages of development. “It’s in the concept and design [phase],” he said. When he was asked if he knows when it’s going to be released, he replied- “I do. I would be foolish to say it.”
Well, it makes sense that he isn’t confirming the release date yet. From all we’ve been able to gather so far, Bethesda’s waiting on the appropriate technology they need to properly realize their vision for Elder Scrolls 6, something that doesn’t seem to be possible with the current hardware on market. Which means that the game hasn’t even gone into full production yet, so as it stands right now, the rough timeline the studio has in mind could very well be subject to change. Either way, it just doesn’t make a lot of sense to confirm a game’s release date literally years in advance.
