With Starfield now just a couple of days away from its early access launch, Bethesda is also sharing a bit more about the next Bethesda Game Studios project: The Elder Scrolls VI.
Just a few days ago, game director Todd Howard said the studio aims to create the ultimate fantasy world simulator with the sixth mainline installment in the franchise. Now, in an interview with the Spanish website Vandal, Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Pete Hines confirmed that the game is already in early development, having left the pre-production phase.
No. It’s in development, but it’s in early development.
That means Bethesda didn’t wait for Starfield to be completely finished to start the production phase on The Elder Scrolls VI. However, don’t take that as any indication that Bethesda is planning to release more information on the game any time soon. Hines later clarified:
Let’s see, over time, but years later. We have put all our studios focused on making this game [Starfield] the best it can be. And yes, there are people working on The Elder Scrolls VI, but this is what the studio has focused on. So no, at no early point are you going to hear about The Elder Scrolls VI. Starfield is our focus for now, and it’s going to remain our priority for a while before we talk about anything else.
We didn’t expect anything less on this count. Starfield will undoubtedly remain the studio’s focus for a while as it commits to updates, DLCs (the Shattered Space expansion is already confirmed), and the release of mod tools, which is likely to come in a few months’ time.
Moreover, Bethesda tends to unveil their games relatively close to release. Fallout 4 was famously announced and released the same year. Starfield is a bit different because it was delayed from its original launch date, but we really only started getting solid information from Bethesda in the last year/year and a half.
It’s safe to assume the same will be true for The Elder Scrolls VI. Of course, its target release window is anyone’s guess at this point, but we could be realistically looking at 2027 or 2028. That being the case, don’t expect any major details before 2026 or thereabouts.
That means a very long wait if you consider that the game was first announced in 2018. Of course, that only happened because Bethesda wanted to reassure fans it would still make single player games after Fallout 76, and Todd Howard has recently admitted it may have been too soon anyway.
Very little is presently known about The Elder Scrolls VI. However, rumors and speculation point to a potential Hammerfell (the desert home of the Redguards) setting and features like a political system, betrayal, and marriage, all of which would fit in the ultimate world fantasy simulator moniker shared by Todd Howard.
