The Elder Scrolls 6 Update Sheds Light on Release Date

The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced by Bethesda back in 2018. Since then, Xbox has acquired Bethesda and seven years have gone by. And it’s been seven years of waiting for The Elder Scrolls fans. That said, up until Starfield’s release in 2023, almost zero progress was being made on The Elder Scrolls 6 as Bethesda Game Studios was focused on the new sci-fi RPG. It’s been about two years since then though and there still isn’t an update. Some were hoping the recent Xbox Games Showcase would provide said update, but it did not.

That said, during the showcase, Xbox boss Phil Spencer did tease Xbox’s 2026 lineup, including Fable, Forza Horizon 6, and more. It didn’t name drop The Elder Scrolls 6 though, effectively ruling out that the game will release in 2026. This means The Elder Scrolls fans should expect to wait until at least 2027 to play the follow-up to Skyrim.

Even if Spencer not mentioning The Elder Scrolls 6 in his tease about Xbox’s lineup next year wasn’t noteworthy, the fact it was absent from the showcase also confirms it is unlikely to release next year. When the game does reappear, it will no doubt be at an Xbox Games Showcase, and this reveal — in June — is unlikely to happen the same year it releases for the simple reason Bethesda and Xbox will want a proper marketing campaign for what will be their biggest release of the generation.

What is odd was the recent report that a new trailer for the game going around internally at Xbox. That said, it is increasingly obvious that this was not a promotional trailer, but an internal trailer to show off milestones and progress. These type of trailers are common in AAA development.

Of course, take all of this speculation with a grain of salt, but The Elder Scrolls 6 releasing in 2026 was always a long shot. Now, it is just seemingly ruled out. Will we see it in 2027? That seems a safe bet. Based on development timelines, the context so far, and when the next Xbox is expected to release, 2027 seems like a decent possibility though 2028 is certainly a possibility as well. Anything beyond would suggest the game ran into development issues, and so far there have been no rumblings or reports of that.

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