The Elder Scrolls franchise is rapidly expanding, but not nearly fast enough for some fans. While the release of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim: Anniversary Edition and the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom expansion have gamers rediscovering enduring pillars of the series, there has been growing impatience for the release of The Elder Scrolls 6. First teased during the 2018 E3 Conference, the early announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6 - alongside the enigmatic trailer - was met with immediate fanfare. Unfortunately, fans have been given almost no new information about the upcoming game, making it clear that the 2000-day mark since The Elder Scrolls 6 announcement could pass without a release date.
One of the main reasons for the notable delay could be that Bethesda is currently working on two games using new IP. Both the Bethesda-published first-person shooter Redfall and Bethesda-developed outer space RPG Starfield are presently in the works, with Bethesda game director Todd Howard emphasizing that they will release before The Elder Scrolls 6. Unfortunately, all three games have required a multi-year wait, with no guarantees that the upcoming Bethesda titles will be released in 2023 or further delayed. As gamers anxiously wait for more information on the next Elder Scrolls game, excitement quickly turns into impatience.
Open-World RPGs Released In Recent Years Pose A Threat to TES6
In the nearly five-year wait since the announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6, numerous open-world RPGs have pushed the genre forward. With the help of next-generation gaming technology, titles like Ghost of Tsushima, Cyberpunk 2077, and Elden Ring have raised the bar for future open-world RPGs. As more expansive and ambitious role-playing games are announced and released -- including Baldur's Gate 3 and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf -- the competition against The Elder Scrolls 6 becomes fiercer. With so many upcoming RPGs in development, the next Elder Scrolls game may face a brutal climb compared to Skyrim's release.
Remarkably, The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim might even compete with The Elder Scrolls 6, as the game has found new players and thousands of fan-made mods since its 2011 release. Not only is Skyrim one of the most popular video games of all time, but it has received near-universal praise, with fans amassing thousands of in-game hours. Numerous community-made mods revolutionize Skyrim gameplay, with some adding hours of new gameplay to the base game. As more players discover and rediscover Skyrim, experiment with mods, and curate their play experience, The Elder Scrolls 6 becomes less special and enticing.
Bethesda's Secrecy Around The Elder Scrolls 6
As the announcement date for The Elder Scrolls 6 has long since passed, some fans are frustrated with the lack of updates or information about the game. As the wait has stretched on, the Elder Scrolls community has taken to dissecting the release trailer for possible clues. For instance, the verdant and mountainous landscape in the short video has players theorizing that TES6 might be in Hammerfell or Black Marsh. Other gamers are looking to past franchise titles like The Elder Scrolls: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for clues on what the upcoming game might be focused on.
It could be argued that the lack of context around The Elder Scrolls 6 has driven more players to explore The Elder Scrolls Online. The MMORPG and its various expansions allow gamers to explore areas of Tamriel that might be present in the upcoming RPG. In contrast, the secrecy around the development of The Elder Scrolls 6 has frustrated fans who have been anxiously waiting for years since the early release announcement. A future Elder Scrolls game could benefit from early access player feedback, given the high expectations for The Elder Scrolls 6's release.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is currently in development.