Bethesda Update Is Bad News for The Elder Scrolls 6

05/12/2022 01:01 pm EDT

A new update out of Bethesda and Bethesda Game Studios is bad news for The Elder Scrolls 6 and its potential release date. Today, Bethesda and Xbox delayed Starfield to 2023 out of its November 2022 release. What does this have to do with The Elder Scrolls 6? Well, both are in development at Bethesda Game Studios, with the majority of the studio working on Starfield. The expectation was that this would change when Starfield was released this year. Now, this shift won't happen until 2023, which is going to impact the release of The Elder Scrolls 6. 

From what we understand, The Elder Scrolls 6 is still in pre-production and this isn't going to change until Starfield is released. So, a delay to Starfield has a domino effect. In other words, two games basically got delayed today: Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6. Where does that put The Elder Scrolls 6? Well, it's not releasing anytime soon. 

Based on how long previous Bethesda Game Studios' projects have taken -- like Skyrim -- The Elder Scrolls 6 will probably take four to six years to make, including pre-production. Thankfully, the bulk of pre-production is complete. So it's possible this number could be more like three years, but even if it is, that puts the game out in 2026. 

At this point, it looks like The Elder Scrolls 6 will release towards the end of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, assuming the generation is similar in length to the PS4 and Xbox One generation. That said, this is mostly all speculative.

The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced back in 2018, and since then Bethesda hasn't said a meaningful thing about it other than that it's far away. Four years later, it still looks far away.

As always, feel free to share your thoughts and hot-takes in the comments section or, alternatively, hit me up on Twitter @Tyler_Fischer_ and let me know over there. When do you think The Elder Scrolls 6 will release and what do you want to see from the next game in the series and the first proper mainline installment since Skyrim?

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