It’s been five years since the release of the last numerical entry in the popular Elder Scrolls series. Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released in 2011 to rave reviews from publications such as Game Informer and IGN. According to Time Magazine, Skyrim hit a milestone by selling over 20 million copies. E3 2016 saw the announcement of an update to the game, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. With the success of Skyrim and most recently Fallout 4, fans are wondering about the sixth entry in the Elder Scrolls series. Bethesda marketing executive Pete Hines quelled rumors of a 6th game being in development on Twitter with the following tweet:
So, while the next Elder Scrolls installment isn’t currently in development, Hines says that the game will see a release “eventually.” In an interview with mmorpg, Hines explained that he knows what Bethesda will be working on “for the next decade.” He also added that “The Studio [Bethesda Game Studios] is not a vending machine;” a proclamation that he elaborated with the following quote:
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.
According to Gamespot, Bethesda director and executive producer, Todd Howard, says that the Fallout 4 team has “lots of ideas.” When asked if he would work on something on smaller scale than Elder Scrolls or Fallout, Howard said “no–we definitely don’t plan on making small things.” Howard also told Gamespot that following the success of Fallout Shelter, Bethesda plans to work on future mobile games. Howard explained that since the team at Bethesda plays smartphone games, they get inspired to create their own. However, Howard did not elaborate on what the studio’s future mobile games would be.
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition is slated for an October 28th release this year.