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Four Elder Scrolls VI Rumours

Four Elder Scrolls VI Rumours - Article

by Craig S , posted on 17 February 2022 / 6,543 Views

The following is a guest editorial.

If you're highly anticipating the next entry in The Elder Scrolls franchise then you're definitely not alone. Almost everything about what will inevitably be a juggernaut of a game is still covered in a veil of mystery, and what little nuggets of information have been revealed are the subject of enormous amounts of speculation and theorising.

Fortunately there are some hints and pieces of information to go off, and from those we've managed to come up with a list of four solid rumours revolving around The Elder Scrolls VI.

   

Location

The Elder Scrolls VI's location is probably the thing we know most about the game so far, although that's not saying much given how tight a lid Bethesda has kept on the title. Bethesda's fan base is one of the most enthusiastic and dedicated in all of gaming, so whenever the company does hint at a key detail you can be sure that the fanbase will pick it apart.

Such is the case with the game's location. Early theories rested primarily on the teaser trailer, which was released in 2018. This shows the camera travelling through a mist-filled, rocky landscape, before it eventually focusses on a series of mountain peaks set beside a clear sea.

Early speculation therefore settled on High Rock, Tamriel, as being the most likely setting for the title. That was until the end of 2020, when in a New Year post an image of a map was released by the company, alongside some teaser text saying 'transcribe the past and map the future':

As you can see, it's a map of Skyrim, but just above the text for Skyrim there's a candle, and above that is some slightly fainter text that says 'Hammerfell'. It's therefore likely that the setting (or at least part of the setting) of The Elder Scrolls VI is Hammerfell, which is home to the Redguards. Hammerfell is actually bordered by High Rock to the North in the series' lore, so it'd certainly be possible for both regions to feature in the game and therefore for both these early location speculations to be correct.

   

Release Date

We also have some solid hints regarding the game's potential release date to go alongside the location speculation, or at least the earliest it could possibly launch.

Firstly, we know that The Elder Scrolls VI is going to be exclusive to PC and Xbox platforms, following Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda and its parent company. We also know for sure that The Elder Scrolls VI won't be out until long after Bethesda's other upcoming big hitter, Starfield, has been released. Starfield is currently set to launch on 11th November, 2022.

Finally, Phil Spencer has confirmed that the upcoming Fable reboot (which has been in the works for several years over at Playground Games), will be launching before The Elder Scrolls VI. Fable doesn't have a release date yet. It's also likely that Microsoft will want to stagger these major RPG franchise launches, with Starfield in 2022, Fable hopefully in 2023, and then The Elder Scrolls VI either in 2024 or 2025. The earliest possible launch date is therefore holiday 2024, but 2025 becomes a strong possibility if either Elder Scrolls VI or Fable end up needing more development time.

    

Mod Support

Modding in Bethesda RPGs has become quite the cultural phenomena, at least on the PC side. Not only has this resulted in great quality-of-life additions, and massively expanded the lifespans for titles like Fallout 4 and Skyrim in the process, but some developers have managed to create fully-fledged video game releases out of this mod support.

The Forgotten City is probably the most successful of these. A mystery adventure game built by indie developer Modern Storyteller, it's a full video game adaptation of a critically-acclaimed Skyrim mod of the same name. It was released last year to both critical and fan acclaim, with players highlighting its storytelling qualities.

This mod support culminated in Bethesda launching the Creation Club in 2017. The idea behind the Creation Club is that developers and modders can create and then sell their mod content for Bethesda games. The concept of 'paid mods' initially proved controversial, as did the low share of revenue being given to the mod developers, but putting those objections to one side it's clear that Bethesda views mod support as an integral part of its last few games, and presumably The Elder Scrolls VI too.

    

Longevity

With The Elder Scrolls VI Bethesda plans to make a game that will last at least 10 years, much like its mainline predecessor, which was a top grossing game and shipped over 30 million units. That means a focus on longevity, which can be added in a number of ways, from full mod support, to a narrative that's highly divergent and varied from playthrough to playthrough, and perhaps even a feature like Fallout's settlements.

The Elder Scrolls VI has to be a "decade game", Todd Howard has said. "People are still playing Skyrim. It’s still one of the best-selling games. I know people joke about it online, but it’s one of the best-selling games on Switch. Anything we put it out on, it becomes a hit game. And they love it, they still play it, it’s almost infinitely playable, with all of the mods, and everything like that."

"What that does, is let us know going into The Elder Scrolls VI, this is a game we need to design for people to play for a decade at least. At least."


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8 Comments
G2ThaUNiT (on 17 February 2022)

Not too much new information to these rumors that we didn't already know.

But it'll be interesting to see how Xbox spaces out their big RPG games over the next several years. Holiday 2022 is Starfield (if it doesn't get delayed) then I'm betting on Avowed and Fable being released in 2023. Maybe one in the summer and the other in the holiday. Then The Outer Worlds 2 and inXile's rumored Victorian era steampunk FPS RPG in 2024, leading to Elder Scrolls VI in 2025. That's quite an RPG lineup!

Keeping my fingers cross there's a Fallout remaster/remake at some point during these times!

  • +4
Kakadu18 G2ThaUNiT (on 17 February 2022)

I think the Outer Worlds 2 is going to release in 2025 or 2026, since they had barely started when it was announced.

  • 0
2zosteven (on 17 February 2022)

rumors? who cares. this game is going to sell millions of copies and be played for years to come.

  • +3
Random_Matt (on 17 February 2022)

Nope, ten years means a live service model. Well, if it is then I'm out. Was disappointed to hear AC going this way.

  • -3
aTokenYeti Random_Matt (on 17 February 2022)

ESV is still going strong and that is decidedly not a service game.

  • +8
G2ThaUNiT Random_Matt (on 17 February 2022)

He doesn't mean it's a live service game. Skyrim is still averaging 30,000 concurrent players on Steam alone each and every day 10 years after its launch. Bethesda games have such amazing longevity due to their embrace of the modding scene, and that's what keeps their games going for 10 years.

Bethesda might release expansions to Starfield like they did with Skyrim and Fallout 4, but that'll most likely be it before they go into full production of ESVI

  • +7
Random_Matt G2ThaUNiT (on 17 February 2022)

We shall see.

  • -1
Shiken Random_Matt (on 19 February 2022)

ES6 will not be a live service game because Elder Scrolls Online exists and the two would cannibalize eachother.

  • +3