The Elder Scrolls 6 Is Years Away — Here’s Why
E3 is dead, but The Elder Scrolls 6 isn’t—seven years after its 2018 reveal and a long, echoing silence, Bethesda Game Studios is finally breaking cover with fresh details.
Remember when Bethesda dropped that Elder Scrolls 6 logo at E3 2018 and peaced out? That was more than seven years ago. E3 is gone, our backs hurt now, and Bethesda is finally talking again. Short version as of December 2025: it exists, it is moving, and no, you will not be playing it anytime soon.
The mood check
Fan patience has clearly run dry. A tweet that blew up on December 5, 2025 put it bluntly: you are living in a fantasy world if you think Elder Scrolls 6, GTA 6, or Half-Life 3 are around the corner. Funny, but also not far off the mark for Elder Scrolls.
What Bethesda actually said
Senior folks at Bethesda Game Studios sat down with Game Informer and, to their credit, did not spin. Todd Howard says development is progressing really well and most of the studio is on Elder Scrolls 6. But he also stressed that Bethesda builds games on long, overlapping cycles. Translation: they stack projects. So while Elder Scrolls 6 is the main effort, the team is still supporting Starfield (which launched in 2023) and laying groundwork for Fallout 5. That overlap keeps people busy, but it stretches timelines. Howard admitted everyone wishes it moved faster, but they are not changing the process just to hit an earlier date.
'Do they want a game that comes out before it should and doesn't meet their expectations? Or do they want the turkey that is in the oven for long enough to be delicious when it finally comes out of the oven, you know? ... We're going to take our time and as long as it needs to be to be great.'
— Emil Pagliarulo, studio design director
Emil Pagliarulo leaned into that philosophy hard. He knows the wait is painful, but the studio is prioritizing a finished game over a fast one. He even pointed at other big games choosing to delay (GTA 6 being the obvious example) as the right call. The message is simple: it is not just about building the world; it is months and months of polish, bug fixing, and tuning.
Studio director Angela Browder came at it from the tech angle. Since Skyrim hit in 2011, hardware and software have leveled up so much that Elder Scrolls 6 feels like an endless set of possibilities to them. That excitement is real, and also exactly why they are not rushing out something half-baked.
Where this leaves us
If you are looking for a release window, there is not one. And that is the point. Bethesda is talking process, patience, and potential — not dates, not trailers. Honestly, it also makes their 2018 reveal look like a classic 'yes, we are making it, please stop asking' moment more than a sign the game was anywhere close.
- Elder Scrolls 6 was announced at E3 2018; E3 no longer exists, which tells you how long it has been
- As of December 2025, Bethesda leadership says development is going well but remains on a long timeline
- Most of Bethesda Game Studios is on Elder Scrolls 6, but they overlap projects by design
- Starfield (released 2023) is still being supported, and groundwork for Fallout 5 is underway
- Emil Pagliarulo says they will take as long as needed; better to ship polished than early
- He cites big games delaying (like GTA 6) as smart, because polish and bug fixing take time
- Angela Browder says tech leaps since Skyrim make Elder Scrolls 6 an 'endless set of possibilities'
- No release window, no new trailer talk — expect years, not months
If you were hoping for a surprise launch in the near future, it is time to recalibrate. The game is real, it is underway, and Bethesda seems determined to do it the slow, careful way. Which, yes, is frustrating — and also probably the only way this thing meets expectations.