On June 10, 2018, Bethesda announced that The Elder Scrolls 6 was in development. It didn't show much more than a teaser trailer, but it was enough to kickstart rumors about the game. Yet, it's been over two years now and that's all that's been shown of the game: a landscape teaser with a logo, nothing more and nothing less.
It's worth, first, looking at the context of the announcement. Bethesda knew Fallout 76 would be divisive, that a multiplayer experience wouldn't appeal to a solid portion of its fanbase, and so by announcing The Elder Scrolls 6, it was preemptive damage control. Bethesda has since commented Starfield would release before TES6 (which halfway through 2020 and Starfield still doesn't have a release date), and that official news regarding the next Elder Scrolls game is years away. This begs a simple question: beyond needing it to offset Fallout 76, why even announce the game?
Video Games That Were Announced Far Too Early
The Elder Scrolls 6's announcement simply falls into a category of games that were announced far too early. It's not the first to do so, and it's certainly not the last. For example, Final Fantasy 7 Remake was initially announced back in 2015 and didn't release until April 10, 2020. That also comes with the caveat that the only first part has released. While expectations and hype are high for Final Fantasy Remake Part 2, there's no official word on that either. News on the remake came and went over the years, occasionally popping its head up, but the simple matter of the fact is: the game was announced five years ago and only a single part has released.
Another example is The Last of Us 2. It recently released but was actually announced back in December 2016, meaning fans had to wait 3.5 years. There's plenty of more games that, from announcement to release, had fans waiting for quite some time. Shenmue 3, Metroid Prime 4 (which still hasn't released and has reportedly restarted development at some point), and Cyberpunk 2077 (first announced back in 2012) all come to mind, with plenty more out there.
The thing is, this doesn't actually seem to impact sales. Shenmue 3 launched to mediocre reviews, sure, but The Last of Us 2 topped sales charts. Final Fantasy 7 Remake is critically acclaimed. Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most anticipated games of the year and will almost certainly sell well given its pedigree. On the other hand, there are games like Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Godfall that were announced this year or last year that are releasing this fall (of course, disregarding potential delays). They will likely be as successful as they are, even with a shorter announcement period.
Sometimes, games are announced too early and that doesn't influence its critical or commercial performance, but for fans waiting in the shadows, it can be more trying than not. Brand recognition goes a long way, but it doesn't make a good game, nor does it mean it can't fail. The famous quota from Shigeru Miyamoto comes to mind here, that "a delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever," but this isn't what he meant. If a game is announced but is delayed appropriately, that's a good thing for the game and developer. Delays like Watch Dogs Legion may be able to testify to that upon release, but a game announced far too soon is no better than a game announced at the appropriate time. And it was far too early for The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Elder Scrolls 6 Release Date....When?
These early announcements lead to questions, questions that can't or won't be answered for years to come. Games announced within two years are often expected to have a release window at the very least, but two years down the road, no one knows when The Elder Scrolls 6 will release. It is so early in development that it's impossible to tell, but reasonable expectations that have floated around are 2024-2025. Assuming these to be relatively possible, that means fans will have to wait 7 years from reveal to release.
In that time, players could theoretically beat Skyrim 100 times, and it's a massive game. That also means there would also tentatively be 14 years between Skyrim and The Elder Scrolls 6 when there was only 5 between Oblivion and Skyrim. Of course, the gaming industry has changed a lot since then, but at the end of the day, announcing a game so early is still one trend that should kick the bucket.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.