With Starfield set to release in just a matter of days, fans hoping for any news on The Elder Scrolls 6 will have to wait for quite some time, with the head of publishing at Bethesda saying that any information on the MMORPG will be "years" away. Speaking to Spanish site Vandal, Pete Hines, who heads up publishing at Bethesda, states that the focus on Starfield will be on developing the game for "years," with The Elder Scrolls 6 nowhere in sight.
In an interview, Hines is asked about The Elder Scrolls 6 and Starfield, with the question posed as to whether any news on the previously announced sequel will be shared in the months following Starfield’s initial release.
"Not in the near term," Hines replies, "because like I said, we’re going to spend years on Starfield and we’re going to spend years on the next thing."
Hines then goes on to clarify that while there are people working on The Elder Scrolls 6, the studio’s current focus is on making Starfield the best it can be.
"It’s not like we’re in pre-production on The Elder Scrolls 6 and we’re going to jump right into development," Hines continues. "There are people working on it, but the focus is on Starfield and the focus after that will be on whatever the next thing is, and that’s how it works."
When asked about The Elder Scrolls 6 being in "early development," Hines says, "yes," although this is followed by him saying, "it’s not like it’s early development, we’ve got some people working on it," which seems to contradict the first part of the statement.
Regardless of the confusing answer, Hines then moves on to discuss post-Starfield, stating that once the game is out Bethesda will continue to work on patches, expansions, and providing ongoing support for the game.
This runs contrary to comments made by Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who said The Elder Scrolls 6 is "five-plus years away." This would put the game sometime in 2023, which is a long time to wait considering the game was officially confirmed back in 2012.
Considering all these factors, it wouldn’t be surprising if The Elder Scrolls 6 doesn’t release until 2030, which would be 12 years after its official confirmation and nearly 20 years since the release of Skyrim.
Even the game’s director, and executive producer at Bethesda, Todd Howard, has previously expressed regret about announcing The Elder Scrolls 6 when he did.
"We wanted to say something about it because we want to acknowledge it, and put a stake in the ground, but it was probably the wrong time," Howard said in an interview in the lead-up to the release of Skyrim VR.
