Some of the biggest franchises in video gaming are getting long awaited sequels in 2017,
including Mass Effect and Resident Evil.
But one title is still conspicuously absent from the release schedule: Elder Scrolls.
Here's a look at why we haven't seen Elder Scrolls 6.
Skyrim remastered
Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim was one of the most popular games of its generation.
So fans were pretty excited when the game's developer and publisher, Bethesda, released
a new, remastered version in October, 2016 to celebrate Skyrim's fifth anniversary.
But if you were frustrated that the studio was using its resources to remaster Elder
Scrolls 5 instead of working on Elder Scrolls 6, there's some good news: studios frequently
use remastering old games as a way to fine tune the game engine for a new installment.
Capcom did it with Resident Evil, and Naughty Dog did it with Uncharted.
So there's a good chance that the remastered Skyrim is actually a stepping stone towards
Elder Scrolls 6.
Skyrim is still popular
While many games like Evolve and Titanfall can die out over time due to diminishing player
bases, Skyrim is still going strong.
In fact, even five years after its release, Skyrim is still one of the top 20 PC games
on Steam.
One big reason for this is that Bethesda has embraced modding by the player community,
encouraging fan participation to keep gameplay fresh and vital.
And as long as Skyrim is still popular, it takes the pressure off Bethesda, allowing
them to take their sweet time perfecting every detail of Elder Scrolls 6 before they release
it.
Bethesda takes it slow
Bethesda isn't a studio that likes to rush their games.
The studio has built up a sense of trust with their fans, and Bethesda won't be pressured
to release Elder Scrolls 6 until they are satisfied with the game.
Bethesda honcho Todd Howard said as much at E3 2016.
"We think very long term.
We're not a developer that's going to rush something like this out.
When you think about what is the future of that kind of game, we have a pretty good idea
of what that's going to be."
That attention to detail is one reason Fallout 4 took seven years to make.
And it's why the company's in no rush to finish Elder Scrolls 6.
Elder Scrolls Online
It's important to also keep in mind that Bethesda did release a new Elder Scrolls game in the
years since Skyrim's launch.
In 2014, fans got their hands on Elder Scrolls Online.
Developed by Bethesda's corporate cousin, Zenimax Online Studios, the Elder Scrolls
MMO was itself in the works for seven long years, as everyone insisted on the highest
level of quality control to ensure it lived up to the Elder Scrolls franchise reputation.
And since then, the game has seen the regular release of new content, with six DLC packs
so far and counting.
So it's not like they're just sitting around doing nothing!
Technical difficulties
One big reason for the delay is the simple fact that Skyrim was created to be compatible
with the previous generation of consoles — y'know, your PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 — while
Elder Scrolls 6 is presumably being developed for the current generation.
That probably won't sit well with the game's legion of PC players, but there is a benefit
to the advance in technology, as it will allow the developers to build the game at a higher
level for everyone.
That is, once they have the technology to make the game in the first place.
Which they currently don't, according to Todd Howard.
"I could sit here and explain the game to you.
And you would say 'that sounds like you don't even have the tech, how long is that gonna
take?'
And so it is something that's gonna take a lot of time, what we have in mind for that
game."
The studio has other projects
So if Bethesda doesn't even have the technology to make Elder Scrolls 6 yet, just what are
they doing with their time?
Well, according to Howard:
"We actually have two other large projects we're also doing that are bigger than anything
we've done.
People will probably hear about those even before Elder Scrolls 6."
That's great news for fans of Bethesda and video games in general.
But not so great for fans dying to see Elder Scrolls 6 any time soon.
When will Elder Scrolls 6 come out?
Even the people working at Bethesda can't seem to agree on when Elder Scrolls 6 will
show up in front of gamers' faces.
In fact, there seems to be some debate over whether or not they're even working on the
game at all...
Executive producer Todd Howard certainly seemed to think so when he was asked about it at
E3 in 2016.
"Are you guys gonna do an Elder Scrolls 6?"
"I think that's kind of like the elephant in the room always when we talk about anything.
I think it's good in these moments to tell our fans, 'Yes, of course we are.'
It's something we love…
I have to be careful what I say."
However, just two weeks later, Bethesda's head of PR, Pete Hines, took to Twitter to
tell everyone that they actually aren't working on Elder Scrolls 6 at all, claiming that Howard's
comments were misconstrued.
So for now, the only thing we can be sure of is that everybody wants Elder Scrolls 6
to come out.
And nobody knows when it will.
Hopefully the whole franchise hasn't taken an arrow in the knee...
(unfunny meme origin)
God what an awful joke.
Please end me.
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