A petition was created on Monday, June 19th by gamers, calling for Microsoft to release Bethesda Game Studios next installment in the Elder Scrolls series, The Elder Scrolls VI. Bethesda Games Studios is owned by Microsoft ever since the major Triple A company, along with the parent company ZeniMax Studios was bought out by Microsoft for $7.5 billion.
Following the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct, which showed Bethesda’s upcoming title Starfield, an open-world Sci-Fi RPG, which has a release date of September 6th, 2023. Along with a release date, the Starfield Direct revealed that the game will be exclusively on Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, and PC. This would mark Starfield as Xbox’s biggest exclusive for the year. Following this, a petition was created which called for Starfield to be a PlayStation 5 exclusive, the maker noting that “…Xbox and its 12 dedicated players do NOT deserve Starfield or any exclusivity. Not only are they arrogant and annoying but since the showcase they have been irritating. They keep sharing Starfield news telling us “get an xbox”…” Currently this petition has 2,976 signatures as of writing this.
This petition for The Elder Scrolls VI showed up the next day, following the Starfield petition, just like the ladder calling for the next installment to be on Playstation and not be exclusive to Xbox and PC. The creator for this petition included an article by PCGamer, who interviewed Phil Spencer on The Elder Scrolls VI being released on Xbox and PC only. The creator calling for a boycott explains:
…I will argue the fact that the series is more popular now then it was back then in no small part due to the game being on Xbox and PlayStation. Fans of the series and casual fans who only played Skyrim should boycott this game until they reverse their decision.
Currently, this petition has 1,376 signatures, with some of the supporters pointing out current economic conditions, and the rise of console prices. One commentor, Ethan Dile even says, “It’s wrong to ignore half your player base.”
Since the announcement of The Elder Scrolls VI during Bethesda’s Showcase at E3 2018, Bethesda Games Studios has not released any new trailers or gameplay for their next highly anticipated title.