Bethesda think we'll be playing Skyrim well into the next decade

Bethesda Game Studios' Mark Lampert thinks that gamers will be playing The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim V for the foreseeable future, even into the next decade, thanks to the "timelessness" of the original game and the additions from the developer and the community since.

Chatting to games radar, audio director Mark Lampert explained that the design of Skyrim is what encourages gamers to play it start to finish, back to front and mod it to infinity, even in 2022. "The reason Skyrim is still so popular today is because of its timeless game design," he said. "I don't mean to build it up too much, but people still play chess because it is a good, solid, timeless game. Skyrim has that thing about it too."

Aw, what a sweet sentiment. Watch this Dragonborn clatter into Solitude inhabitants scattering them like bowling pins in this wins and fails compilation below!

Though 11 years have passed since its launch, scrolling through its subreddit reveals new discoveries and new journeys for players who missed out way back when. Its setting, especially, is simultaneously awe-inspiring and familiar feeling for fantasy fans, welcoming those curious enough to wonder what their housemate/significant other/fellow commuter is playing on their Switch.

"Even though when we're working on a game, and we might have played it, literally, 1,000s of times - I don't know how many 1,000s of times I've heard the main theme - taking a short break and jumping back in, it all becomes so compelling again," continued Lampert.

"10 years from now, if Skyrim is still playable, then people will still be playing it. And of course it will be, it's on everything," said the developer. "By then, we'll be playing on screens, your refrigerator, your Tesla on your commute. And it'll make you late for work." Well, let's hope we'll have the option of playing either Skyrim or The Elder Scrolls VI on our fridges by the time 2032 rolls round.