A new petition has demanded that Microsoft drop any plans it may have to release The Elder Scrolls 6 as an Xbox console exclusive and release it for PlayStation as well. Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda ensures that the company could very well make The Elder Scrolls 6 an Xbox console exclusive, like how it's doing with Bethesda's next game, the open world sci-fi RPG Starfield.
Fans have been looking forward to The Elder Scrolls 6 since Skyrim was first released in 2011. Over a decade later, all fans really know about the game is that The Elder Scrolls 6 exists, it will be Bethesda's next game after Starfield, and it will have Skyrim grandma Shirley Curry as an NPC. With Bethesda squarely focused on Starfield for now, it's unlikely that fans will learn more about The Elder Scrolls 6 at any point in the near future.
Whenever the full reveal for The Elder Scrolls 6 takes place, it will likely include confirmation on if the game is going to be an Xbox console exclusive or not. With those details likely years away, fans have already started a petition on Change.org demanding that Microsoft release The Elder Scrolls 6 as a multi-platform game and not an Xbox exclusive. The petition was posted online a few days ago and has already amassed over 1,500 signatures, with hundreds of new signees today, though online petitions like these almost never amount to anything.
It's totally possible Microsoft could make the decision to release The Elder Scrolls 6 on PlayStation. After all, The Elder Scrolls franchise has a storied history on PlayStation consoles, and it would be like leaving money on the table to exclude the platform. Then again, Microsoft wants to keep getting new Xbox Game Pass subscribers, and releasing The Elder Scrolls 6 on the platform as an exclusive day one release will almost certainly bump up its subscriber count. Regardless of what decision Microsoft makes, it's unlikely to be swayed by a fan-made petition.
If The Elder Scrolls 6 is an Xbox console exclusive, it wouldn't even be the first time that a game in the series skipped PlayStation. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind was only released for PC and the original Xbox, skipping the PlayStation 2 entirely. The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, meanwhile, did release on both Xbox 360 and PS3, but it didn't hit the PS3 until a full year after the 360 version dropped.
And even though The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim released on PS3 and Xbox 360 on the same day, the PS3 version had some platform-exclusive problems that didn't 360 gamers didn't have to deal with. Not only that, but Skyrim DLC came to Xbox 360 before PS3, so the franchise has always favored the Xbox brand on consoles. Even so, that is unlikely to lessen the sting that PlayStation gamers might feel if The Elder Scrolls 6 skips their platform of choice.
The Elder Scrolls 6 is in development.
