Elder Scrolls 6 Shadow Drop Teased By Todd Howard, God Help Us

The Elder Scrolls VI could potentially be shadowdropped, according to Bethesda exec Todd Howard.

Despite being one of the most highly-anticipated video games of all time, behind GTA VI of course, The Elder Scrolls VI is still nowhere near close to its release date.

Todd Howard confirmed as much in a recent interview with GQ, saying the game is “still a long way off.”

Howard went on to say that Bethesda currently has “hundreds of people on Fallout right now, with 76 and some other things we're doing, but The Elder Scrolls 6 is the everyday thing,” so it’s not in any trouble, the team is just taking its time with it.

This statement also hints that a Fallout 3 remaster is indeed on the way, similar to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered that launched earlier this year.

Bethesda

Speaking of Oblivion, one of the most interesting segments of GQ’s chat with Todd Howard came towards the end of the interview.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered was a surprise shadowdrop for fans, and when asked if The Elder Scrolls VI could be released in the same way Howard said “you might say that was a test run. It worked out well.”

Better judgement says The Elder Scrolls VI won’t be shadowdropped, purely because of how hyped up the game’s release will be and store pages will probably crash from preorders alone.

That said Bethesda is part of Xbox now and it wouldn’t be a shock to see it shadowdropped onto the highest tier of Xbox Game Pass, which would probably be the best addition the subscription service has ever received.

What Howard’s statement could really be teasing though is additional shadowdropped remasters, like the inevitable Fallout 3 Remastered and perhaps a Fallout: New Vegas Remastered to now that the iconic location is returning for the TV series.

When is The Elder Scrolls VI coming out?

There are many possibilities but as always the Bethesda exec gave nothing away, apart from there being more Fallout content on the way of course.

So in terms of timeframes if The Elder Scrolls VI is still “a long way off” we can likely rule out a 2026 release date, and possibly a 2027 release date too.

This will be sad news for many but it at least means it won’t be competing with GTA VI next year, provided the Rockstar game does actually come out and doesn’t suffer from a third delay.