Elder Scrolls 6: Teasers, Map, Platforms, And More
The Elder Scrolls 6 release date has had fans guessing for years now. In fact, Elder Scrolls 6 was first teased back in 2018, which means people have been wondering when the release date for Elder Scrolls 6 will be ever since. As more time goes by, Bethesda has subtly given out more and more information to make the game. Here’s everything that we know about Elder Scrolls 6 so far, and what we think we know, including the potential Elder Scrolls 6 release date and map.
Is There A Elder Scrolls 6 Release Date?
Click to enlargeSo far, there hasn’t been an official Elder Scrolls 6 release date announcement yet. However, there are a few things that give us an idea of when the game may come out.
Back in 2018, Pete Hines, the Senior VP of Marketing/Communications at Bethesda, pointed out that there were two other major titles from Bethesda Game Studios that will release before Elder Scrolls 6 does. Phil Spencer, the head honcho at Xbox, has also said that the next Fable game will release before the Elder Scrolls 6 does.
One of those was Fallout 76, which came out in November 2018. The other is Starfield, which is another Bethesda-developed game we're all still waiting on. Starfield does have a 2023 release date though, so we should hopefully get our hands on the game sooner rather than later - delays not included. 2023 is more than likely the earliest the Elder Scrolls 6 release date will be.
Why Is The Elder Scrolls 6 Taking So Long To Release?
It’s no secret that Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was a massive success story. In fact, the game has come out with multiple different editions, and they’ve all done well. Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios, brought up the idea that Skyrim has lasted a decade now and is still thriving. When Elder Scrolls 6 releases, it will need to last just as long.
It's a lofty goal and even though the game is no doubt in development as we speak, creating a title with such aims is an unimaginable amount of work. It wouldn't be too surprising to see a 2024 or beyond release date.
Elder Scrolls 6 Trailers and Teasers
Bethesda has released very little information about Elder Scrolls 6 so far. We're yet to see anything more than the teaser trailer above, which was revealed at E3 back in 2018.
That said, having a trailer of some form is better than nothing at all, and the trailer we saw did its job. The epic music playing over the zooming shot through Tamriel got everyone plenty hyped for the game, even though we had no idea the release date was so far out at the time.
Unfortunately, the 36-second teaser is all we've seen in the past three years for the game, but more news will hopefully come sooner rather than later.
Elder Scrolls 6 Map and Location
Click to enlargeWhen it comes to ideas about where the game will take place, there’s a theory for just about everywhere in Tamriel. The past games have been set in High Rock, Hammerfell, Morrowind, Cyrodiil and Skyrim - each of these areas are different parts of Tamriel as a whole.
Considering the name has shown as Elder Scrolls 6 and not any kind of remake, most would think that they’d be going to an entirely new area. This would leave Elsweyr, Valenwood, the Black Marsh, and Summerset Isles. However, leaks would suggest that it may take place in a previous area.
In a 2020 tweet from the official Elder Scrolls Twitter account, there’s a picture of a map of Skyrim with three scandals -- one on Hammerfell, one in the direction of High Rock, and one in a place North of Skyrim. However, as of the Tamriel fans have seen, there’s nothing North of Skyrim. This could be a hint that Tamriel is going to expand, but that would be pretty unlikely considering how interconnected the games already are.
This leaves both High Rock and Hammerfell as possible contenders based on this hint. While each of these have already shown up in an Elder Scrolls game, the caption on the picture mentions “the past” and “the future” - this could be a hint.
According to some, the Starfield trailer at E3 2021 held an Elder Scrolls 6 easter egg. A scratch in the game is suspiciously in the same shape as one of the land masses between Hammerfell and High Rock -- this definitely adds a bit of weight to the Twitter post.
What About The Unexplored Areas In Tamriel?
Out of Elsweyr, Valenwood, the Black Marsh, and Summerset Isles, none of them make too much sense given the teaser trailer and Elder Scrolls Online.
While none of the above regions have been seen in a mainline Elder Scrolls game, two of them have shown up in Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr and Summerset Isles. Each of these areas has been explored in Elder Scrolls Online in the past few years, so they more than likely won’t be part of the upcoming game.
That would leave Valenwood and the Black Marsh. However, both of these areas aren’t supposed to have the same terrain that’s shown off in the teaser. In fact, both of them are supposed to be more marshy, based on information from within the Elder Scrolls games, so rocks and valleys don’t make too much sense.
So, given the limited information fans have right now, it’s safe to say that a return to Hammerfell or High Rock is a possibility.
Elder Scrolls 6 Platforms
Click to enlargeThere’s been a lot of debate about what platforms Elder Scrolls 6 will be on. Early in 2021, Bethesda was bought by Microsoft. At the time, there was mention that some of the games would still be released on other platforms - which would mean PlayStation.
However, Starfield, another upcoming Bethesda game, has already been confirmed to release on Xbox and PC only. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that PlayStation won’t see Elder Scrolls 6, it’s pretty hard to say that it will. At best, Elder Scrolls 6 will have a limited release on Xbox and PC and then a full release later on.
This could also mean a Switch version of the game at some point. However, given the hardware restrictions of the handheld console hybrid, it could be years after the game releases just like Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim did.
There’s still a lot to find out about Elder Scrolls 6, and time will tell more. What we do know is that the game is definitely still in production -- Bethesda just has a lot going on right now.
