A Skyrim Mod is the Perfect Example Why Todd Howard Needs AI-Powered NPCs in Elder Scrolls 6

You’ll be stunned to know, but it’s been six years since Bethesda revealed the announcement trailer for The Elder Scrolls 6. However, the trailer wasn’t much of a reveal. The sneak peek at the future of the franchise was a mere 37-second-long video that gave us a look at a mountain-lined landscape and the game’s logo.

Once Elder Scrolls 6 gets a major update and release date, it’s destined to create a frenzy in the gaming industry. However, if Bethesda and Todd Howard truly want the next Elder Scrolls game to be yet another generational hit, they must take a look at the fan-favorite Skyrim mod that introduces us to AI-powered NPCs.

Bethesda’s Elder Scroll 6 Desperately Needs AI-Powered NPCs

Even though Bethesda doesn’t have the most stellar reputation right now, given their recent failures, there’s no denying the fact that it gave us a bunch of brilliant and imaginative games. One of these is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is still going strong to this day as one of the most played games around, all thanks to its modding support.

Skyrim might’ve debuted in 2011 but the sheer number of mods that tweak, if not constantly improve, the overall experience is so immense that you’ll never notice the age of the game. One of the best mods that has ever hit the shelves for the game is undoubtedly Mantella from developer Art-from-the-machine.

So what’s Mantella all about? Well, it’s a mod for the game that blends generative AI and speech technologies. It uses tools such as ChatGPT, LLama, and Whisper for speech recognition and text-speech generators to craft interactions between players and NPCs in the game.

The benefit of this mod is that gamers can talk with Skyrim NPCs beyond the originally scripted dialogues by Bethesda. It opens up new possibilities and enhances role-playing mechanics, as NPCs can now react based on their personalities and your in-game choices.

For example, you can provoke friendly NPCs to attack, inquire bards about the various powerful monsters, encourage followers to open up about their heroic stories, and even get answers for the most mind-boggling philosophical questions, and get actual thoughtful responses. You can take things one step further and even have multiple NPCs participate in conversations with you.

It’s an impressive mod and one that Todd Howard and Bethesda must take a look at. Bringing such AI-powered enemies in Elder Scrolls 6 will not only bring another layer of challenge to the gameplay but will also elevate it in multiple ways.

With the help of AI capabilities, enemies could react to our strategies, learn from our past battles, and then pair up to fight us. We’ve already seen many developers in the industry adopting this strategy, and it’s time for Bethesda to do as well.

Elder Scrolls 6 is Still Years Away From Release

One of the biggest mysteries surrounding the next Elder Scrolls game is when exactly it will see the light of the day. Although there isn’t much information about a potential release date, one thing is for sure: Elder Scrolls 6 is still years away from release.

The company has been very local about the fact that its latest game, Starfield, is its main priority, and considering it’s still getting updates, it’s safe to assume there are still a lot of loose ends to tie up before diverting resources to the next project.

In an interview, the company’s Head of Publishing, Pete Hines, stated that the next Elder Scrolls game is still in the early development stages, confirming that Starfield is the main focus right now.

During last year’s FTC trial, Xbox Head Phil Spencer revealed that the title is still five years away. In short, it’s going to be a long while before we learn about the next Skyrim sequel, but we can expect to see it sometime around 2028.

With that said, would you like to see anything else in Elder Scrolls 6? Let us know in the comments below.