In their anniversary message for the Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda gave players a tease about the much-awaited Elder Scrolls 6, giving players hope about the upcoming game.
Happy 30 years of The Elder Scrolls: pic.twitter.com/dvCiFnZo6T
— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) March 25, 2024
In their post on X (formerly Twitter), Bethesda Game Studios celebrated the 30th anniversary of the Elder Scrolls franchise. The letter focused on the history of the Elder Scrolls series, starting from Arena 30 years ago to the Elder Scrolls Online. However, that was not what caught the attention of players. What caught it was the message's second to the last paragraph:
Last but not least, yes, we are in development on the next chapter – The Elder Scrolls VI. Even now, returning to Tamriel and playing early builds has us filled with the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure.
Although these two sentences look like they don't have much information, they actually tell us some important pieces of news. First off, we know that the game is still actively in development, and was not shelved. This at least tells us that the game will come out. Second, they mentioned that they were “playing early builds.” That means that the game is already at a somewhat playable state, enough so that it gives the testers “the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure.” Lastly, we can surmise that the game should be fun, seeing how its developers are having fun with the game.
Sadly, the tease was just that: a tease. They didn't reveal any release dates, or even a release window for when the game will become available. As such, we're still in the dark about when to expect the game to come out. However, this is still the most news we've had about the game in recent times, so it might be a sign that the game is getting further along its development.
It Has Been Almost 6 Years Since The First Elder Scrolls 6 Tease
Bethesda first revealed Elder Scrolls 6 back in 2018, almost six years ago. The teaser, which was half a minute long, featured an aerial shot of a vast landscape, featuring mountains, an ocean, and some ruins. It then ended with the words The Elder Scrolls VI on-screen.
Three years later, in an interview, Todd Howard revealed that the game was “still being in a design [phase].” That means that the announcement teaser was just that, an announcement that the game was going to be made. It doesn't help either that they were at the time working on Starfield, their newest open-world RPG. Starfield was likely one of the reasons why the game's development started late, and now that it's out, nothing stands in Bethesda's way anymore.
Speaking of development, there was a four-year gap between Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, and Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion. There was then a five-year gap between Oblivion and Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim. If we are to assume that the development cycle starts at the design phase, and the design phase started in 2021, we can guess that the game still has two or three years left in the oven to bake. Since an early build is already available for playtesting, we can likely expect more news in the coming months.
That's it for the Elder Scrolls 6 tease that Bethesda released for the franchise's anniversary.
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