Key Takeaways
- The Elder Scrolls 6 is still in development after six years with few updates as to its status.
- The current console generation may last until 2026 or 2027, and TES6’s release could coincide with the end of the Xbox Series X/S.
- TES6 could potentially be one of the last major Xbox Series X/S releases before the next hardware generation.
The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda’s next mainline entry in its popular RPG series, has spent years in development at this point, and still remains largely behind the scenes. First announced all the way back in 2018, fans have been eagerly awaiting any substantial new information or updates on The Elder Scrolls 6 in the time since, but to little avail. The studio has recently been largely focused on the launch of its new IP, Starfield, last year, and following up with various fixes and additions to it. The recent Rev-8 update ahead of Starfield‘s first major DLC, Shattered Space (set to drop on September 30), continues Bethesda’s promise of long-term support for it.
It is therefore looking likely that, despite the already long interval, The Elder Scrolls 6 is still quite a ways out. And while nothing is confirmed at this point in the following regard, given that it’s been six years and counting, and combined with the age and climate of the current console generation, events may conspire such that TES6‘s release will coincide with the waning days of the Xbox Series S and X. If that does end up being the case, it might also dovetail with it being a changing of the guard of sorts.
Along with
TES6
, Bethesda is assumed to be
working on
Fallout 5
,
the next game in its other tentpole series, although news about it has also been scarce.
The Current Console Generation is Around Its Halfway Point
At present, the ninth generation of gaming consoles is four years into its life cycle. While previous generations had averaged around five years, that number has slightly increased in the last one. Both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One debuted in 2013, with their successors hitting the market in 2020. Many assumptions paint the current generation as likely to last until around 2026 or 2027, which, if it pans out to be true, would put it roughly on par with the prior gap. As leaps in generational technology have seen a bit of diminishing returns, the spans have stretched out, and this may be the factor that sees The Elder Scrolls 6 placed in an interesting spot in terms of its launch timing.
Why The Elder Scrolls 6 Might End Up Being the Last Major Xbox Series X/S Release Before the Next Generation
Bethesda is surely keenly aware of the expectations for The Elder Scrolls 6, and it will probably only feel more pressure as time goes on. It’s probable that it will lose at least some goodwill and patience if it waits until the next generation is in full swing before TES6 is ready. There are some other notable titles that came at the tail end of a generation. One was The Last of Us, which released during the winding down of the PlayStation 3 era, and fans could potentially see TES6 fit into a similar role. To reiterate, though, this remains purely conjecture presently, and the developer could have other plans for the eventual reveal of The Elder Scrolls 6.
As Microsoft owns Bethesda, it’s highly likely
TES6
will be included on Game Pass.
But taken with its lengthy development cycle and the shifting nature of recent generations themselves, it might yet be that TES6 waits until the current one is nearly drawing to a close to release, and aligns its launch to be just ahead of the next generation of Xbox consoles fully entering the market. If so, then it would likely act as a last hurrah of sorts for the Xbox Series X/S, sending that generation off on a high note, and later possibly following The Last of Us‘ example again by receiving an updated version for true next-gen hardware. It remains possible that The Elder Scrolls 6 will release well before the next Xbox, but until Bethesda confirms something, it does seem plausible that TES6 will close out the modern Xbox generation.
