After years of near silence, Bethesda has finally offered another glimpse into how The Elder Scrolls 6 is shaping up. While there’s still no release window in sight, senior figures at the studio say development is moving forward steadily, even if it’s taking longer than anyone would like.
A Long Road Since E3 2018
The Elder Scrolls 6 was first revealed back at E3 2018 with a short teaser trailer, confirming the project was in pre production at Bethesda Game Studios. Since then, fans have seen almost nothing of the game itself, fuelling years of speculation and impatience.
Now, as part of an upcoming Fallout retrospective, Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard has shared a rare update on where things stand.
Todd Howard: “We Want to Get It Right”
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Game Informer, Howard admitted that the wait has been difficult for both fans and developers, but stressed that the studio is focused on quality over speed.
“It’s progressing really well,” Howard said. “The majority of the studio’s on VI, but I’ll say this, we always overlap. So, we’re very used to overlapping development. And we have long pre productions on things so that we feel good about them. And it’s a process. We all wish it went a little bit faster, or a lot faster, but it’s a process that we want to get right.”
Howard also confirmed that Bethesda is juggling multiple projects at once, noting in a separate interview that hundreds of developers are currently working on Fallout related content alongside The Elder Scrolls 6.
Technology Is Driving Big Ambitions
Studio director Angela Browder also weighed in during the same Game Informer feature, joking that, “as the internet likes to tell us, it’s been a while.”
Browder said the leap in technology since Skyrim has opened up exciting new possibilities for the team.
“The industry and the hardware and all of this have made such huge leaps and bounds since the last time we made one of these,” she explained. “The possibilities are crazy.”
She added that comparing the original Oblivion with its modern remaster shows just how far the series, and the industry, has come. For Browder, The Elder Scrolls 6 represents an “endless set of possibilities” that she believes will be clear to long time fans once they finally get their hands on it.
“It’s gonna be dope. It’s dope,” she said, laughing.
“We’re Going to Take Our Time”
Studio design director Emil Pagliarulo echoed those sentiments, pointing to recent high profile delays like GTA 6 as examples of studios making the right call.
“What do fans really want?” Pagliarulo asked. “Do they want a game that comes out before it should and doesn’t meet their expectations? Or do they want the turkey that’s in the oven for long enough to be delicious when it finally comes out?”
According to Pagliarulo, Bethesda is prepared to take as long as needed to make sure The Elder Scrolls 6 lives up to expectations.
Still No Release Date, But Progress Is Real
Bethesda has previously confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 entered early development in 2023, with early builds reportedly in place by March 2024. Despite this, Howard has been clear that the game is still “a long way off” and has urged fans not to feel anxious about the wait.
In another recent exclusive, Howard revealed that Bethesda is now playtesting the game and even floated the idea of a surprise release one day, similar to the Oblivion Remastered style shadowdrop, though he stopped well short of confirming any plans.
For now, patience remains the order of the day. It has been more than seven years since The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced, but if Bethesda’s leadership is to be believed, the long development cycle is all part of ensuring the next chapter in the legendary RPG series is worth the wait.