Bruce Nesmith, a retired Bethesda Games Designer, believes Todd Howard only agreed to announce Elder Scrolls 6 because of the pressure they were receiving from fans.
In 2018, Bethesda revealed in an announcement teaser video for Elder Scrolls 6 with a comment saying ES6 was now in the pre-production phase. Since this teaser, fans have been not-so-eagerly waiting to hear when ES6 will actually be released or if any tidbits are floating around about the story or gameplay.
As it has been five years since the bare bones reveal, many are questioning why Bethesda announced ES6 if it would be in production for another five-plus years.
In an interview with MinnMax on YouTube on Oct. 23, a former Bethesda games designer, Bruce Nesmith, revealed the answer—it’s because of us. Bethesda and, more specifically, Todd Howard, one of Bethesda’s bosses, felt pressured to disclose there would be an ES6 game, even though they weren’t yet in the full throws of production.
Although Bruce has left Bethesda, he still believes his fingerprints will be on ES6, as specific designs and mechanics from previous Elder Scrolls titles will be improved and enhanced for ES6. But that doesn’t mean the development process will be shortened.
Most triple-A games take, on average, three to four years to develop. However, bigger games like ES6, which require more resources and effort, will take longer to develop, and this is why, even after five years, we haven’t heard anything more about ES6 and won’t until a year to six months before the official launch.
Todd admitted earlier this year he regrets announcing ES6 so early in an interview with GQ and probably should have done it more casually.
At the time, he also declared Bethesda wants to make any eventual Elder Scrolls sequel “fill the role of the ultimate fantasy-world simulator… there are different ways to accomplish that given the time that has passed.”
Unfortunately, what’s done is done, and the wait drags on.
