Skyrim was an incredible game, a massive open world that broke new ground and was so good that it has been re-released across multiple console generations. Its success has lead to enormous expectations for a sequel, which Bethesda Softworks has yet to deliver on. Sadly, it looks like it will be 2028 at the earliest before we see The Elder Scrolls 6.
This is because the company has been extremely busy on Starfield, an ambitious space-faring RPG that has taken years to develop. It’s the main focus of the company, and it’s probably going to take all of its resources before The Elder Scrolls 6 can get off the ground.
It’s also worth remembering that the company was acquired by Microsoft in 2021, and it will be a part of the Xbox family from now on. It’s not clear how this will affect the development of the next game, but it’s safe to assume that Microsoft will be keen to make a big splash with the first game to come out under its ownership.
If that’s the case, we can expect it to be an Xbox Series X and PC exclusive for some time, but it might launch on the upcoming generation of consoles too. Microsoft has a history of leveraging its power and influence to secure exclusivity deals with games studios, and we’re expecting them to make The Elder Scrolls 6 their priority.
However, it’s not going to be easy to push back the release of Starfield in order to give a green light to TES 6. Even if they managed it, they would risk repeating the mistakes that they made with Fallout 76 and alienating fans.
In addition, the current consoles from Microsoft and Sony are a long way from being capable of running such a massive game. They’re both aging, and we’re not going to see a major hardware upgrade before 2025. This means that the only way to play a brand-new The Elder Scrolls is on the upcoming generation of consoles.
If that’s the case, we can probably expect a day-one Game Pass offer with the game, but it won’t be available on PS5 in the meantime. That’s a shame, but it’s probably the best way to ensure that a Bethesda game gets as wide an audience as possible. The game is likely to be an incredible achievement, and if it’s an exclusive for the new systems it will be well worth the wait.
