The Future of the Elder Scrolls Franchise: An Alarming Revelation

A devoted fan of Bethesda's Elder Scrolls franchise has had a somber realization that, given Bethesda's current pace, they may not live long enough to witness the release of many more games in the main series. The Elder Scrolls games by Bethesda are renowned for their enormous scope and sprawling open-world environments, which naturally result in significant gaps between game releases. Regrettably, these gaps have been widening lately.

For instance, there was a two-year gap between the original Elder Scrolls game and Daggerfall, followed by a six-year gap until Morrowind. While the first game took place across the entire continent of Tamriel and Daggerfall was set in High Rock and Hammerfell, Bethesda shifted their focus to a single province starting with The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. Four years later, The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion allowed fans to explore Cyrodiil, and then Skyrim arrived five years after that, in 2011.

There have been no new main series Elder Scrolls games released since Skyrim's launch in 2011. While some claim that The Elder Scrolls 6 could be released in 2026, more realistic estimates suggest that the game is at least five years away from launch, meaning most players would not be able to play it until 2028. This raises concerns among Elder Scrolls fans who may not have the opportunity to play many more games in this beloved franchise.

To illustrate this, let's consider someone who was 20 years old when Skyrim was released. Assuming the extremely optimistic prediction that Elder Scrolls 6 will be released in 2026, and if Bethesda takes 15 years for each subsequent game, this person would only have four more Elder Scrolls games to look forward to in their lifetime. Unless Bethesda significantly speeds up the release of Elder Scrolls titles, most fans will not have the chance to explore the franchise's provinces in a proper single-player adventure, similar to the original game released in 1994.

The rumor circulating is that The Elder Scrolls 6 will take place in Hammerfell or High Rock, which revisits the areas previously covered in The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. Unfortunately, it appears that the majority of Elder Scrolls fans currently alive may not witness the release of separate games for Black Marsh, Elsweyr, the Summerset Isles, and Valenwood, similar to Morrowind, Oblivion/Cyrodiil, and Skyrim. However, it is worth mentioning that The Elder Scrolls Online offers the opportunity for fans to explore these provinces to some extent, although it is not the same as having their own dedicated, single-player games.