Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard has commented on the wait for The Elder Scrolls 6.
Earlier this week, Howard gave a relatively rare podcast interview. When asked about a potential update or release window for The Elder Scrolls 6, Howard replied with "I wish it was soon," adding that "I wish they didn't take as long as they did, but they do."
Howard is obviously speaking to Bethesda's lengthy development cycle in this new comment. After releasing Skyrim in 2011, Bethesda wouldn't release another major game until Fallout 4 arrived four years later in 2015. Fallout 76 launched three years after that in 2018, and Starfield is currently slated to arrive five years after that, next year in 2023.
"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 said of the wait between mainline Elder Scrolls games. If The Elder Scrolls 6 ends up releasing four years after Starfield in 2027 (which is a generous estimate), it'll have been 16 years since Skyrim, the last mainline Elder Scrolls game, first launched.
A teaser for The Elder Scrolls 6 announced the sequel four years ago in 2018. Since then, we've received merely a smattering of updates on the game from Howard and company at Bethesda, who earlier this year hinted that The Elder Scrolls 6 was still in pre-production. Considering Bethesda's gearing up for Starfield's delayed release date next year, that's no surprise.
Bethesda also confirmed Fallout 5 would arrive after The Elder Scrolls 6, if you want to look even further into the distant future.
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