After Fallout’s TV Triumph, Bethesda Boss Todd Howard Leaves the Door Open for an Elder Scrolls TV Series

If you were hoping Prime Video would fast-track an Elder Scrolls show now that Fallout is a hit, Todd Howard just poured a little cold water on that fantasy. Not a no, not a yes — more like a long, patient maybe.

So, is an Elder Scrolls series happening?

Howard told Eurogamer he can neither confirm nor deny that Tamriel is headed to TV. He also made it clear that, if it ever happens, it will move at the same glacial speed as Fallout did.

"I will say this, the Fallout journey was like a 10 year one," After Fallout 3, people were asking to do a movie or show for Fallout, and we really took our time. But, you never know. I think the impact of the show on Fallout as a franchise has been bigger than I expected, so it does make you think like 'hey, is there a path?'. But, nothing today... [and] I'm willing to say 'no' for a decade."

Translation: Bethesda got asked about adapting Fallout way back after Fallout 3, said no for years, and only moved when it felt right. That strategy paid off — the Prime Video series blew up bigger than Howard expected — but he is perfectly comfortable doing the exact same slow-walk with Elder Scrolls.

Why Fallout clicked (and Elder Scrolls might be trickier)

Howard thinks Fallout naturally fits television and has more to say in its particular lane. Fair point: the show leans into a warped retro-future vibe — 1950s aesthetics welded onto a nuclear wasteland — with irradiated deserts, gun-toting raiders, and mutant weirdness layered over the whole thing. Meanwhile, cushy Vault life looks like an underground sitcom suburb until someone like Ella Purnell's Lucy MacLean gets shoved topside and everything goes sideways.

Elder Scrolls, on the other hand, is a big, straight-up fantasy world — and any huge fantasy series gets lined up next to the Game of Thrones machine at HBO/Max whether it wants to be or not. That shadow can help and hurt.

Where things stand

• Howard to Eurogamer: he "can't rule in or rule out" an Elder Scrolls show, but nothing is in motion right now.
• If it happens, expect a long timeline; Fallout took roughly a decade from early conversations to screen, and he is "willing to say 'no' for a decade."
• The success of Fallout on Prime Video was bigger than he anticipated, which has him at least considering a path for Elder Scrolls someday.
• Fallout season 2 hits Prime Video on December 17, with new episodes rolling out weekly.

Bottom line: enjoy the Fallout glow-up now. If Tamriel ever makes the jump, it will be because Bethesda decides the timing and take are exactly right — even if that means waiting years.