Bethesda's Elder Scrolls series has been dormant for almost a decade, and fans only have a few details about The Elder Scrolls 6 to make the wait more bearable. Still, rumors, official Bethesda statements, and The Elder Scrolls 6's teaser trailer give fans a few good ideas about when the game's release date might be, as well as some hints at its possible location, gameplay, and story.
Originally confirmed at E3 2018 along with Starfield, a new space-themed RPG from Bethesda, fans haven't seen much of The Elder Scrolls 6 since then. Bethesda instead focused on games like Doom Eternal and Fallout 76. The latter's recent Wastelanders update fixed hundreds of glitches and finally added human NPCs to the game, and Doom Eternal launched earlier this year to much critical acclaim.
While these successes somewhat helped Bethesda's dwindling reputation, many fans are likely becoming impatient for the full Elder Scrolls 6 reveal. Unfortunately for those full of anticipation, it will be some time before Bethesda makes any major announcements. Here's everything known about The Elder Scrolls 6 so far.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Release Date
Despite announcing both Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 with similarly vague teasers in the same press conference, Starfield is planned to release before the next Elder Scrolls game. In May 2020, Bethesda's Pete Hines said on Twitter that significant Elder Scrolls 6 news is still years away. Since fans "pretty much know nothing about" Starfield yet, in Hines' words, they can expect not to hear more about The Elder Scrolls 6 until "years from now." Hines also told PCGamesN Bethesda has "two major multi-platform releases" planned before The Elder Scrolls 6 (one of which is presumably Starfield).
Several rumors and supposed leaks have cropped up since the initial announcement, like one claiming The Elder Scrolls 6 would release in 2025, but these have so far proved baseless. Still, with even just simple information about the game "years" away, 2025 may not be a bad guess for The Elder Scrolls 6's release. Although Bethesda may have been hiring Elder Scrolls 6 developers earlier this year, Hines' phrasing implies more news could be at least two years out. Unless Bethesda announces and releases the game in the same year (as it did for Fallout 4), The Elder Scrolls 6 likely won't launch until 2023 or 2024 at the earliest.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Location
Another false leak claimed a "The Elder Scrolls 6: Redfall" would take the series back to both High Rock and Hammerfell. While there was no insider knowledge to prove these claims, it's once again not a bad guess. Screen Rant's analysis of the initial teaser found Hammerfell and High Rock to be The Elder Scrolls 6's most likely locations, based on the landscape and architecture shown in the trailer. Both of these provinces appeared in 1996's The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, so it would certainly be interesting for the main series to revisit them again in HD. Of course, the teaser was so vague that Bethesda could just set The Elder Scrolls 6 anywhere and adapt a part of its setting to suit the trailer.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Story & Gameplay
Bethesda hasn't yet released any Elder Scrolls 6 gameplay footage, and, just as fans know nothing concrete about the game's setting, its story is also up in the air. Certain statements from the company give at least an idea of how The Elder Scrolls 6 differ from its predecessors in these areas, however. In the Game Maker's Notebook podcast (via GamesRadar), Bethesda's Todd Howard mentioned a "project in pre-production getting a new animation system." It's not clear if this is The Elder Scrolls 6 or the other game Pete Hines mentioned, but since that project will launch before Elder Scrolls, it's likely Elder Scrolls 6 will use the new system either way. New animations could mean revamped combat - something many fans want to see changed for The Elder Scrolls 6.
Howard has also said Bethesda is approaching The Elder Scrolls 6 with "a decade" of play in mind. The team recognizes Skyrim's long-lasting popularity on account of its open-ended design and plethora of mods, so it's developing the next game in the hopes of making a similarly replayable experience. In an era where the attitude among games publishers is leaning towards all triple-A games being live services, this comment could imply The Elder Scrolls 6 will see some "living game" updates after launch. But especially after Bethesda's many Fallout 76 controversies, perhaps fans wanting a purely single-player The Elder Scrolls 6 don't have to worry.