While it’s true that the “nature of video gamers” is based partially on their need to wait for the next big video game title to release, that doesn’t mean they like waiting for it to come out. After all, wouldn’t you rather play a game now than have to wait for its actual release date? That’s what we thought. In the case of The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda announced the game at E3 2018. That’s right, they announced the game almost six years ago now, and we still have no inkling of what it will be like, when it’ll be released, or how it’ll appear on next-gen systems.
To their credit, Bethesda and lead man Todd Howard admitted that they were wrong to do that. They further admitted that they only made the announcement because of fan pressure to know that something was being made in the line versus the infinite amount of rereleases that the fifth entry kept getting. The joke here is that while they did give fans a truthful statement that the game was coming, it soon became a meme about when the game would come and whether it would be any good at all.
Today is the 30th anniversary of the franchise, and Bethesda released several statements about the series and what was coming next, including that Elder Scrolls 6 is still in development:
While that’s not much in the way of information or statements, it’s something fans can latch onto. Just as important, given that a certain other “big-name title” that Bethesda had been working on for several years came out in 2023, you could argue that this is one of their biggest projects left to make. So they could be “hunkering down” for the long haul of development before its release.
The problem here is that based on past statements, and the vagueness of their new statement, it could be several years before the game releases. Another issue is that fans have absolutely soured on Bethesda’s titles as of late, as the company’s last two titles either bombed, or had a negative reaction within the fanbase over time despite the company basically telling fans that they “didn’t get it” regarding the titles gameplay, themes and so on.
No matter what happens next, Bethesda has to step up and ensure this game hits. If it doesn’t, it could mark a very dark time for the company.
For their full statement about the 30th anniversary of the franchise, check out the tweet below:
