Elder Scrolls 6: Another Long Wait for Bethesda’s Open-World Epic
When Elder Scrolls 6 was first announced back at E3 2018, excited fans imagined Tamriel’s next adventure might not be far off. Fast forward to 2024, and the mood has taken a sharp turn. Bethesda’s recent candor about the release date has left many players rattled: we likely won’t see the next installment until 2026 at the earliest.
The delay has thrown the Elder Scrolls community into a frenzy. Many had hoped the game would arrive not long after Starfield, but Bethesda confirmed that they only ramped up work on Elder Scrolls 6 after Starfield’s September 2023 release. With Todd Howard still at the director’s helm and the game running on the newer Creation Engine 2, everyone expected clear progress updates by 2024. Instead, all they've heard is a confirmation that Elder Scrolls 6 is, in fact, years away.
For most, the date to watch is the Xbox Games Showcase scheduled for June 8, 2025. Every forum and podcast is filled with hot takes: Will we finally see a real teaser? Could Bethesda drop a release window during the show, or will they double down on silence? The company’s spotty history with timely updates hasn’t helped ease nerves—just remember the endless memes and speculation when Starfield kept getting pushed back. No one wants a repeat, yet it’s happening all over again.
Why This Delay Feels Different—And Worse
Fans of Elder Scrolls aren’t new to waiting. It took five years between Oblivion and Skyrim, but this gap is already much longer. The release of Skyrim back in 2011 feels like a distant memory, and while the game still has a thriving modding scene, patience for official news is paper-thin. Bethesda’s pivot to Starfield was understandable, but as they shift focus, Elder Scrolls loyalists feel sidelined.
The reason for the delay isn’t hard to grasp. Creation Engine 2, the upgraded tech behind Starfield, is being retooled and expanded for Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda insists this will mean fewer bugs and a better, richer world to explore. But that repeated promise of “next-generation immersion” doesn’t mean much to fans who’ve had years of near-complete radio silence. Realistically, the earliest anyone will see fresh gameplay is in late 2025—assuming, of course, the team is ready to show it at the next big Xbox event. Until then, all anyone can do is dissect every tiny leak or offhand developer comment for scraps of info.
So what’s left for fans? A lot of waiting, and even more wild theories. Some cranky diehards say they’re done with Bethesda entirely (though they’ll probably still pre-order the collector’s edition). Meanwhile, many are setting their alarms for next June’s Xbox Games Showcase, hoping for at least a glimpse or a short teaser to tide them over. As for a concrete release date, anyone’s guess is as good as any insider’s right now. After all, in the realm of Elder Scrolls, patience is just another quest objective.
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