Bethesda Teases Elder Scrolls VI as Game's Early Builds Become Playable!

Bethesda teased new information regarding Elder Scrolls VI, the latest title in the franchise, in a message on the day of the 30th anniversary of its first game, Elder Scrolls: Arena.

The developer's long-time director, Todd Howard, explained in 2016 that the next title in the franchise was a "very long way off." Two years later, Bethesda officially announced Elder Scrolls VI in a short and vague teaser that revealed no information about the game at all.

Elder Scrolls VI Early Build

Bethesda Teases Elder Scrolls VI as Game's Early Builds Become Playable! — Games developer Bethesda Game Studios released new information regarding Elder Scrolls VI during the franchise's 30th anniversary, noting that early builds are now playable.(not actual photo)
(Photo : Bethesda Game Studios / Screenshot taken from official website)

Since then, the game's developer has been radio silent on the big follow-up to Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim which was released in 2011. The company spent the last few years getting bought by tech giant Microsoft as well as developing and launching Starfield for Xbox and PC.

Howard had also admitted that announcing Elder Scrolls 6 in 2018 was probably not the best idea and added that he wished the studio had done it more "casually." Bethesda posted on social media detailing the last three decades of the franchise where the developer thanked its millions of fans for helping the series grow, according to Kotaku.

The post said that the company was still developing the next chapter of the franchise and said that returning to Tamriel and playing early builds of the new title filled them with "the same joy, excitement, and promise of adventure."

In contrast to the initial announcement for Elder Scrolls VI, the latest post did include a few tidbits about the new title in the franchise. If Bethesda is to be taken seriously, the new game will once again be set on the large continent of Tamriel and not in one of the more rarely seen locations found within the franchise, such as Akavir or Pyandonea.

This information matches up with fan theories and previous rumors that the new game would be set in Hammerfell, which is an area in Tamriel, based on the landscape that was seen in the teaser.

Teasing New Information

On top of Elder Scrolls VI, Bethesda is also working on several other titles related to the franchise, including The Elder Scrolls: Castles. This is a mobile game that is in the midst of a peculiarly low-key rollout. The recent announcement also comes as Skyrim's new Creations community content system has not proven particularly popular with modders of the game, said GamesRadar.

Lead Skyrim designer Bruce Nesmith said last year that fans would most likely not get official word regarding Elder Scrolls VI until shortly before its official release, which is expected to be sometime in 2026 or later.

The new game in the franchise will also run on a new version of the same engine that is being used by Starfield. Nesmith also said that Elder Scrolls VI would most likely retain the series' learn-by-doing approach to character leveling together with "traces" of its magic system.

One of the questions that the new title will have to answer is how it would depart from Starfield, which many fans see as being big, scenic, and full of stories but also shallow, cluttered, and curiously unimaginative, according to Rock Paper Shotgun.