Elder Scrolls 6 release date rumors: Bethesda preoccupied with other titles and Online content

A screenshot from "The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim."Bethesda Softworks

Fans of the Elder Scrolls franchise have been waiting a very long time for the sixth installment and although Bethesda has some new titles in development, there is still no confirmation that any of them are Elder Scrolls 6. 

Last August, Bethesda's marketing executive Pete Hines did at least put speculation of the next installment at rest when he confirmed there would actually be a sixth installment.  

Even though the last installment was out in 2011, Hines actually appeared somewhat irritated at the demands of fans for the next title in the series.

"This studio is not a vending machine," he said. "They're not a two-button vending machine, where first we press Elder Scrolls and then we press Fallout, and then we press Elder Scrolls and then we press Fallout. They're an incredibly talented studio of creative people. They've now made four games in a row, all of which were named Game of the Year, and they have a right to decide what they're interested in working on next and which direction they want to go."

Ok we get it, quality games need time and proper investment.  But still, it's been quite a few years now so we can be forgiven for wanting a few more details on Elder Scrolls 6.

Executive producer and developer Todd Howard recently said there were three games in development at the Bethesda studio, two of which were in his words "classically Bethesda" games and one of which was a mobile game.

None of these three titles has been confirmed as being Elder Scrolls 6. 

It appears Bethesda's attentions are elsewhere as it recently rolled out the Morrowind game for Elder Scrolls Online.  And in addition to this, the Skyrim port for Nintendo Switch is in the pipeline.  Not to mention the work going on with Fallout 4 VR.

The bad news is the sixth title is likely still some way off, with TechRadar doubting it will be in gamers' hands before 2020.

The site speculates that Elder Scrolls 6 will likely be set in Tamriel, particularly Black Marsh, where the Argonian race lives, and that we can expect house building or town creation to be a feature of the game.  Interestingly, it speculates that the game could be built on an entirely new game engine as the studio is currently advertising for a new engine programmer.