The Elder Scrolls VI is still early in the development process, and next to nothing about it has come to light since a 20-second video featuring a flyover of Tamriel and the title of the game were revealed at E3 2018.
In those five years, the hottest topic of speculation for Elder Scrolls fans has been the game’s accessibility (along with its release timeline), and today, Xbox Game Studios CEO Phil Spencer muddied the waters even further, reaffirming that the company has been “a little unclear on what platforms it’s launching on” during a hearing with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The Elder Scrolls VI has been a certainty ever since its predecessor, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, earned rapid acclaim as a once-in-a-generation game in the early 2010’s. And yet, a sequel is still so distant on the horizon that Spencer and the rest of Microsoft can’t be certain as to which consoles will be hosting the game. “It’s so far out it’s hard to understand what the platforms will even be at this point,” Spencer said.
The Elder Scrolls has been a longstanding product of Bethesda, whose name has gone hand-in-hand with Microsoft and Xbox since the late 2000’s, at least. In 2021, that partnership strengthened even further when Microsoft purchased Bethesda for $7.5 billion.
This September, the studio will release its long-awaited title Starfield as an Xbox exclusive (along with a PC counterpart), leading fans to believe that a future release like The Elder Scrolls VI could share a similar, Sony-less fate.
Related: Starfield’s expanded dialogue options signal return to one of Bethesda’s greatest strengths
The previous installment in The Elder Scrolls series, Skyrim, has become infamous to the point of a meme among the gaming community for its widespread accessibility and frequent re-releases. The game has been re-released over a dozen times (including its Anniversary Edition) for nearly every new game console to enter the fray since its initial release in 2011. It’s important to note that Skyrim launched on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 when it came out in November 2011.
According to Spencer, Elder Scrolls VI is still “five-plus years away,” meaning the game won’t come out until 2028 at the earliest. Due to that exceptionally long timeline, the belief that anything can happen is obvious for a reason at Xbox. Between now and 2028—likely longer, though—a lot can change in the gaming industry, prompting a widespread release of Elder Scrolls VI that appeals to both the Xbox and PlayStation loyalists.
Don’t hold your breath, though, Sony fans. If Elder Scrolls VI were to release today, all signs would point towards it being an Xbox exclusive, especially if Starfield is to serve as a point of reference. If you’re looking to play Elder Scrolls VI on your PS5—or probably your PS6 by the time this game comes out—you’ll need Sony to pull a few strings and work around the exclusive partnership between Microsoft and Bethesda.
