• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Rumor: Elder Scrolls 6 is coming out in 2026, Microsoft lawyer says

Draugoth

Gold Member
imagick_convert.php

Elder Scrolls 6 is allegedly launching in 2026, according to comments from a Microsoft lawyer during the ongoing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hearings regarding the purchase of Activision Blizzard
. Though we didn’t expect the Elder Scrolls 6 release date for some years, especially following comments from Phil Spencer, who said the Bethesda RPG game was at least five years away, maybe – just maybe – we could see the Skyrim sequel much sooner than we’d hoped. With Starfield fast approaching, the idea of Elder Scrolls 6 following so soon on its heels is questionable, but stranger things have happened, especially in the world of games.

At one stage in the hearings, however, a Microsoft lawyer seemed to reveal that the Elder Scrolls 6 will be released in 2026. Actually, the lawyer said “Elder Scrolls 16,” but barring an extreme increase in Bethesda’s release cadence, that was likely just a slip of the tongue.

“Could I clarify one issue that council raised with you?” Microsoft’s lawyer says during the hearing, when discussing the company’s game offerings. “When you were asking about Zenimax and asked him to find a game that was most similar to Xbox [sic], he mentioned Elder Scrolls. That is incorrect. There are two Elder Scrolls games. One is online called Elder Scrolls Online. That is a multiplayer game. It is on PlayStation today. The game he’s talking about is Elder Scrolls 6. The projected release is 2026 as a single-player game.”

So, maybe we’ll see Elder Scrolls 6 in 2026, or maybe it won’t be until 2028.
 

ZoukGalaxy

Member
so 5+ years away and they can’t confirm what platforms (despite previously saying it would be exclusive) or it’s ~3 years away?

Xbox can’t even keep their stories straight…
Easy.

It's 3 years away multiplatform but will be delayed to 5 years exclusive.

Big Mouth Lol GIF by MOODMAN
cat gatos GIF
 
Last edited:

Stuart360

Member
No way will it be 2026, although Todd himself said in 2 seperate interviews that the game will be a shorter dev cycle than Starfield, mainly due to the scope being smaller, just one huge map as oppose to multiple planets etc with Starfield.
They probably will of also had a small team making assets for the game for probably a few years too i would of thought.
 
That same lawyer also said Ragnarok (“the Thor game”) is in PS+ but not on launch day. Maybe I’m mistaken but Ragnarok isn’t in PS+ at all.

Among many other examples of these lawyers and the judge not knowing what they’re talking about.
 

Del_X

Member
I'd actually believe it because it should be about the same scale as Starfield from a dialogue perspective. I don't think you need more than 250k lines of dialogue. They also have the engine in place for current-gen systems. Their tooling should not require the massive overhaul that Starfield did.
 

Kurotri

Member
What was even the point of announcing the game so damn early?
It was the same year they announced 76. At that time, IIRC largely because of a statement EA made that singleplayer games don't sell well and will get left behind by multiplayer games, people were worried that BGS were following suit. They announced ES6 alongside Starfield to shut people up and reassure that that is not the case. They also mentioned in an interview a few months back Fallout 5 was next after ES6. To be honest, I personally don't mind announcements that are far out, because it doesn't really...change anything if that makes sense? If anything seeing a little something can be nice. Like with the ES6 trailer, people were already jumping in and having all sorts of discussions and theories, where is it set, what could the story be about etc. I don't think that's a negative, but that's just my 2 cents.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Todd Howard did say back in 2021, that Elder Scrolls VI is 5 years away. Considering the Starfield delays, I doubt they still have that target. Even with an internal target of 2027, it will probably get delays. But who knows, Elder Scrolls VI will not have the engine overhaul like Starfield so maybe shorter dev time.
 

Kurotri

Member
Phil himself said that it's 5+ years away at this point, unsure if it will even launch on the Series X. With the recent news that both Sony and MS are targeting 2028 for new console releases, I can definitely see ES6 skipping Series X when it launches. It's also in Todd's words likely that it's his last game, so they will really need the time to hit it out of the park.
That lawyer needs to do his homework smh.
 

YuLY

Member
Probably last game from GOATED Todd Howard. What a Legend. One of the last leaders in gaming that care about making something special instead of pushing some agenda. Until then, I cant wait to play the game of the generation in September.
 

mortal

Gold Member
What is the point of your comment? When they announced the game has nothing to do with when it comes out.
The point is that I'm literally asking why they chose to announce it so soon when it was so far away.
Not like people weren't expecting TES VI at some point.
 

Pallas

Gold Member
What was even the point of announcing the game so damn early?
Who knows? Maybe if they had a crystal ball that told them of the great acquisition wars and the global economic scourge known as Covid, maybe they would have it out sooner, or not?

It’s easy to see that maybe Starfield took priority over it but that might not have always been the case? Just my two cents.
 

killatopak

Member
Starfield was delayed multiple time. A lot of AAA games nowadays gets delayed. I simply don’t believe in release dates anymore until it’s really close.
 

Humdinger

Member
I'll take Phil's word, especially because it was probably not something he wanted to admit. 2028. And even then, it will probably get delayed, just like all their other releases. So 2029, maybe. So distant in the future as to be meaningless, really.
 

Bernkastel

Ask me about my fanboy energy!
Because the game is 5+ years away. Who is lying about what? These are estimates.
Todd Howard did say back in 2021, that Elder Scrolls VI is 5 years away. Considering the Starfield delays, I doubt they still have that target. Even with an internal target of 2027, it will probably get delays. But who knows, Elder Scrolls VI will not have the engine overhaul like Starfield so maybe shorter dev time.
2026 is what Todd said in 2021. Starfield itself was originally supposed to release in 2021.
 
Last edited:

Gorgon

Member
Phil himself said that it's 5+ years away at this point, unsure if it will even launch on the Series X. With the recent news that both Sony and MS are targeting 2028 for new console releases, I can definitely see ES6 skipping Series X when it launches. It's also in Todd's words likely that it's his last game, so they will really need the time to hit it out of the park.
That lawyer needs to do his homework smh.

Todd said Fallout 5 would be his last game, not ES6.

EDIT: Hope he does a better job with FO5 than he did with FO4.
 
Last edited:
I'm expecting Elder Scrolls VI to be a next-gen game. So for PlayStation 6 and whatever the next Xbox is going to be called assuming it's multi-platform.

The game will probably blow Starfield into orbit, pun intended.
 
Top Bottom