Given the five-year gap between The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (which was released on 2011), fans of Bethesda Softworks’ sprawling fantasy world are understandably starting to get hungry for the next entry in the series. Though Skyrim was a strictly singleplayer experience, community mods and the sheer size of the game have helped to maintain its popularity and replay value in the intervening years, and have therefore kept the Elder Scrolls series at the forefront of many people’s minds – as has the community that has grown up around Bethesda’s tie-in MMORG Elder Scrolls Online.
2016’s Electronic Entertainment Expo has brought a few surprise announcements with it, the reveal of a new entry in the God of War series among them, and some were hoping that the gaming event would bring with it news of – or perhaps even a trailer for – The Elder Scrolls VI. It seems those hopes may have been premature, however, as the latest word from the studio is that it will likely be years before we’re able to play the next instalment in the series.
In an interview with Geoff Keighley that took place during Bethesda’s live stream event, the studio’s chief game creator Todd Howard was asked about the future of the Elder Scrolls series and whether or not fans could expect another game in the near future. While Howard could confirm that the game is in very early development, fans won’t have to plan their sick days to make time for gaming just yet.
“It’s good in these moments to tell our fans, ‘Yes, of course we are [making The Elder Scrolls 6]. It’s something we love.’ But it is–you know, I have to be careful what I say–it’s a very long way off… I could sit here and explain the game to you, and you would say, ‘That sounds like you don’t even have the technology–how long is that going to take?'”
Howard is probably wise to play his cards a little close to his chest for now; too many game developers have made the mistake of making grand, exciting promises very early on, only for those plans to change somewhere down the line and leave fans feeling wrongfooted. And while it might be disappointing to hear that The Elder Scrolls VI is so far off, some games are worth waiting for.
Bethesda’s presentation wasn’t entirely devoid of Elder Scrolls news. To help pass the time between now and The Elder Scrolls VI, the studio is releasing a remastered version of Skyrim for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Howard also teased that the developer is working on “two other large projects… that are bigger than anything we’ve done,” which he expects to be able to talk about more freely before he can reveal anything about the next Elder Scrolls game.
We’ll keep you updated on The Elder Scrolls 6 as development continues.
