“If I could go back in time…”
The wait for Bethesda’s highly-anticipated The Elder Scrolls 6 has ramped up, now that the expansive RPG is in active development after the release of Starfield last year.
The upcoming entry in the Elder Scrolls franchise was revealed back in E3 2018, but at the time, the game was only in pre-production. While a firm release date is still a ways off, director Todd Howard has spoken about the team’s dedication to crafting a truly exceptional experience that befits the Elder Scrolls name.
Howard Has A “Vague Idea” Of Elder Scrolls 6‘s Release Date
In a YouTube interview with Lex Fridman, Bethesda head honcho Todd Howard dished some info on when the long-awaited TES6 may hit store shelves:
I have a vague idea. I wish it was soon. We want it out, too, and I wish they didn’t take as long as they did, but they do. And look, I mean, if I could go back in time, it would never have been my plan to wait as long as it’s taken for it.
Howard did admit he wishes things were moving faster. This long wait wasn’t the plan, and by the time the game comes out, it’ll probably be more than 17 years since Skyrim. However, he believes in doing things properly than churning them out quickly:
We’re going to make sure we do it right for everybody. People are playing games for a long time, you know. Skyrim’s 11 years old [and is] still probably our most played game. We don’t see it slowing down, and people will probably be playing it 10 years from now, also. So you have to think about, okay, people are gonna play the next Elder Scrolls game for a decade, two decades, and that does change the way you think about how you architect it from from the get-go.
Despite being mostly singleplayer, Bethesda’s mainline titles have all racked up a reputation for having incredibly long legs. The sheer abundance of content in these games makes them replayable for years, even decades.
Howard Delves Into Bethesda’s Development Approach
Howard also shared some details on how they cook up their hallmark RPGs. “So, take Elder Scrolls 6, we figure out where it’s set, what’s the tone, what are the big features,” said Howard.
He added, “We discuss the beginning of the game, which we’ve had for a very long time. Then we like to do music. So we’ve already done a take on the music for Elder Scrolls 6, the music we put in the teaser for it. This was 2018. We’ve taken that further, obviously.”
Once they have those things figured out, they start building the world, with artists making pictures and designs of what it’ll look like. Then, when they’re close to finishing the current game they’re working on, they can start firing on all cylinders. This involves making a small playable prototype first, to test things out and see if it feels right and looks good.
Even though the wait for Elder Scrolls 6 feels like an eternity, Howard assures us they’re taking their sweet time to make a truly special game. Whenever it comes out, you can be sure the folks at Bethesda are pouring their hearts into making it a worthy addition to the Elder Scrolls legacy.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is rumored to release in 2028 on Xbox Series X/S and PC, potentially skipping PS5. Additionally, the game will be available at no cost to Game Pass subscribers.
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