Waiting for Elder Scrolls 6? "There will be a different console generation by then," says ESO dev
So... too early to preorder?
Even the most hardcore Elder Scrolls fans knows, deep in the marrow of their bones, that we're not going to see Elder Scrolls 6 for a long, long time. Sure, it got announced at E3, but ZeniMax Online Studios game director Matt Firor is here to confirm that we're still a long way from a trip to Tamriel.
"The easiest thing is look at how it was announced; it was Starfield and then [Elder Scrolls 6]. You can go back and count the years between Bethesda Game Studios releases, and you'll get the idea that [The Elder Scrolls 6 is] not coming anytime soon," he told Gamespot.
You can be sure that the arrival of Elder Scrolls 6 is playing on Firor's mind. He's the boss of Elder Scrolls Online, and a new single player Elder Scrolls game will make an interesting test for the huge online adventure.
"I don't even know what the world is going to be like when it comes out; there will be a different console generation by then, I'm sure," continued Firor. "Who knows. But I know we're free and clear for a long time." Could all that talk of a new console generation point to a new Elder Scrolls 6 engine, as well?
We did the Bethesda Game Studios releases math. Skyrim was released in 2011, Fallout 4 in 2014, and this year sees the launch of Fallout 76. We'd expect at least two more years for Starfield, so 2020, and Elder Scrolls 6 by 2022 at the earliest. I've checked, and cryogenically freezing myself costs $28,000 (and I need to be clinically dead first), so I'll just have to wait like a normal human.
The long wait means we have plenty of time to come up with crazy theories. Like that Bethesda's Redfall trademark is making people wonder if Elder Scrolls 6 could be set during a deadly plague...
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Rachel Weber is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+ and lives in Brooklyn, New York. She joined GamesRadar+ in 2017, revitalizing the news coverage and building new processes and strategies for the US team.