ELDER Scrolls 6 is the follow-up to 2011’s Skyrim and is set to be another ‘decade game’.
Speaking to GQ, Bethesda’s Todd Howard revealed plans for the next Elder Scrolls title to have as long of a lifespan as Skyrim.
While the “ultimate goal” is to capture the magic that has made the previous series instalments so successful, longevity is also a factor at the forefront of development.
“I think that would drive me crazy to try to say, ‘Okay, this is the thing you have to top’,” Howard says, referring to Skyrim’s 10 year-long run.
“But then you realise, like, The Elder Scrolls 6 has got to be a ‘decade game’.
“How do you make a game where you go into it, like, ‘people have to play it for a decade?’”
The Elder Scrolls 6 release date is likely to be around 2026, or 2027 based on the info we have so far.
The average console lifecycle is around seven years, so we’ll likely see a new Xbox by then.
And the PS6, but it’s almost certainly going to be an Xbox exclusive in light of Starfield’s exclusivity and the Bethesda acquisition.
Xbox boss Phil Spencer said as much himself in the same GQ interview.
Launching on the cusp of console lifecycles will undoubtedly mean a cross-gen release is on the cards.
And 10 years later, we’ll be on the next iteration of consoles — whatever that may look like.
Whether it’s a traditional box, or it’s all in the cloud, the Elder Scrolls 6 will still be going strong by 2037 if Howard’s plan comes together.
And it’ll span three console generations, just like Skyrim before it.
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