Elder Scrolls 6 trailer released to avoid fan backlash, says dev

Do you remember when The Elder Scrolls VI was announced? If not, we wouldn't blame you.

The Elder Scrolls VI was revealed at E3 2018, long before Microsoft acquired Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media, which gives you an indication of how much things have changed since its reveal.

Check out The Elder Scrolls VI reveal trailer below

At the time, all we had to go by was a bird's eye view of Tamriel before The Elder Scrolls VI logo sent those in attendance at the show and those watching at home into a frenzy. To be fair, it would have been safe to assume that we’d only be waiting two, maybe three years for its arrival. Yet, over five years have passed and Bethesda still hasn't announced when The Elder Scrolls VI will be released.

Back in August 2023, Bethesda confirmed that The Elder Scrolls VI had finally entered full development, however, it’s widely believed that the fantasy RPG won't arrive until 2028, if we’re lucky. Let’s just hope that Skyrim Grandma is still around by the time The Elder Scrolls VI is released.

Naturally, fans have been growing impatient for the arrival of The Elder Scrolls VI and Bethesda has been slammed for announcing the game way too soon, and it seems that a developer agrees.

During an interview with PCGamesN, Bruce Nesmith, who was a lead designer on The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, believes that Bethesda only revealed the sixth numbered entry in the series to avoid fan backlash. With the power of hindsight, it seems like that may have been a miscalculation by Bethesda.

“Only the fact that the pitchforks and torches were out got Todd [Howard] to say, ‘Yes we’re going to do The Elder Scrolls VI, it’s for real it’ll happen.’” explained Nesmith. “But I’m betting you don’t hear much in the way of details until six months before release, which is the way it should be. I think that’s the best approach and [Howard’s] proven that works really well, at least for Bethesda.”

Hopefully, the next time Bethesda makes a new reveal for The Elder Scrolls VI, we will not only have a release window but perhaps even some gameplay.