In an interview with Kinda Funny Games, Todd Howard gave a long-awaited update on The Elder Scrolls 6‘s development progress. No, he didn’t mention a release date (besides “not this week”), but Bethesda’s studio head and creative director promised a return to the classic style that shaped The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.
“If you look at our games, we’ve sort of always evolved. We do have a certain style that we like, and our fans like, that we want to get better and better at,” said Howard. “In some ways, in many ways, Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from that kind of classic Elder Scrolls or Fallout [game].”
As examples of Bethesda’s classic games, where players explore the world in a similar way, Howard names Skyrim, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Oblivion. “As we come back to The Elder Scrolls 6, that we’re doing now, we’re coming back to that kind of classic style that we’ve missed and that we know really, really well,” he said.
Howard currently spends most of his time on The Elder Scrolls 6, as do most of the studio’s developers. That includes more than 250 people, some of whom aren’t new to working on The Elder Scrolls games. “The majority of the folks who made Skyrim are actually still here,” said Howard.
Howard mysteriously announced that the team is about to hit a “big milestone” in The Elder Scrolls 6‘s development, though he doesn’t disclose its nature. He also said that the team has “spent the last several years bringing Creation Engine 2, which powers Starfield, up to Creation Engine 3, that’s going to power The Elder Scrolls 6 and beyond.”
Although it’s been seven years since The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced, development updates have been scarce. So far, we know that it will arrive before Fallout 5, and that Bethesda did a big play test in late 2025. Todd Howard says this early announcement wasn’t his choice, as he would much prefer that “You hear nothing, and then one day, the game is out.”
The only other development update Howard can give at this time is that it’s going well, but “It’s going to be a while yet.”
