Everything we know so far about The Elder Scrolls 6

One of the most hotly anticipated games in the world right now is The Elder Scrolls 6. That’s impressive considering that there is little actual information about the game available.

While the game’s development was confirmed years ago, there hasn’t been any sort of visible progress in terms of trailers, screenshots, or even interviews. As such, it’s worth skimming over the limited information that has come out on The Elder Scrolls 6 over the last several years and considering both what we know and what we don’t.

What year is The Elder Scrolls 6 coming out?

Bethesda Softworks has not offered an approximate release date for The Elder Scrolls 6 as of yet, but it’s unlikely to come out until 2023 at the earliest. Bethesda Game Studios is currently working on Xbox Series X/S title Starfield which has a November 11, 2022 release date. The company has been insistent that Starfield is its next game, meaning TES6 will not be coming out until then.

Given how methodical Bethesda Game Studios tends to be with its game development, it’s possible that the next Elder Scrolls game will not come out until a few years after Starfield. 2024 could be the year as it will mark the 20th birthday of the series, which began in 1994 with The Elder Scrolls: Arena. It could be some time yet before fans get a definite answer on when TES6 might come out.

Where is The Elder Scrolls 6 set?

Like previous installments in the series, The Elder Scrolls 6 will be set on the continent of Tamriel, but it’s unclear what specific region TES6 might take place in.

Since The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall, each game in the series has taken place in a specific region. Daggerfall took place in the northwestern regions of High Rock and Hammerfell, Morrowind and Skyrim are named for the regions they took place in, and Oblivion primarily took place in the central portion of Tamriel, Cyrodil.

There are four areas that haven’t been explored since TES: Arenas, with those being Black Marsh, Summerset Isles, Valenwood, and Elsweyr. Each of these regions have been visited to some degree in The Elder Scrolls Online, but while Valenwood is almost entirely included, only small portions of the Black Marsh have been explored. This has led to rampant speculation over where TES6 might take place.

One of the most popular theories revolves around a possible easter egg in the Starfield trailer, with a panel in the starship having some resemblance to High Rock and Hammerfell, leading some to speculate that the provinces might be revisited in TES6. This is seemingly corroborated by the teaser trailer that was revealed in 2018, which shows a craggy area before the title art. Though this could technically be anywhere in Tamriel, High Rock is a mountainous region and highlighting that in the trailer makes sense.

If not, Black Marsh is a strong candidate. Black Marsh is the home of the Argonians and is largely made up of jungles and swampland which would make it quite different from other recent installments in the series. Though it wouldn’t fit with the look of the teaser trailer, the game could ultimately move in a different direction after being in development for years on end.

Why is TES6 taking so long?

The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced much earlier than it normally would be, making it feel like it has been taking longer than it actually has. AAA video games typically take many years to develop, and TES6 is no different. The only strangeness when it comes to The Elder Scrolls 6’s development is that there was a teaser trailer for the game released in 2018 despite the fact that Bethesda developers have always planned to release the game after Starfield. 

Will TES6 be on PlayStation 5?

Bethesda has not announced what platforms The Elder Scrolls 6 will be launched on, but odds are that the game will not be on PlayStation 5. In March 2021, Bethesda Softworks parent company ZeniMax Media was purchased by Microsoft. Upcoming Bethesda title Starfield is set to be released on Xbox Series X/S and not on PlayStation consoles, and it is likely that TES6 will follow suit.

This isn’t guaranteed as ZeniMax is still technically operating separate from Microsoft, but that will likely change over time as there’s no question that Microsoft would like to have a prestigious semi-exclusive game like a mainline The Elder Scrolls game.