Skyrim sequel addressed by former Bethesda dev with clear reason why it didn't happen sooner

The Elder Scrolls VI may still be a few years off, and it’s been a huge talking point as to why there weren’t more spin-off games in-between the big major releases.

Like how Fallout 3 received a spin-off called Fallout: New Vegas around two years after launch, the question of why the same didn’t happen to Skyrim is something that Bethesda never addressed directly, but fans have speculated.

It turns out that the reason is actually a lot simpler than that, as laid out by former Bethesda developer Kurt Kuhlmann.

Speaking to FRVR (via Eurogamer), Kuhlmann said that the reason Skyrim never received a smaller-scale spin-off in the same vein as Fallout: New Vegas is due to Todd Howard being a lot more protective over the IP.

“The whole New Vegas thing did create this, at least the perception of this, ‘who makes a better Fallout game?’ Oh, they should just give it to Obsidian’,” Kuhlmann told FRVR. “There are the Obsidian, New Vegas people that think obviously New Vegas is way better, Obsidian is way better at making those games, and why don’t they just get Fallout altogether.”

He adds that Todd didn’t “want to create that situation again for The Elder Scrolls,” with it being a franchise that Bethesda created from the ground up, as opposed to Fallout which it purchased the full rights to in 2007.

“Todd, from my time there, he is very protective of it,” Kuhlmann said.

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The Elder Scrolls Online is partially responsible for there being no Skyrim spin-off

However, Kuhlmann added that The Elder Scrolls Online is partially also a reason Bethesda never had to worry about a spin-off to Skyrim.

“I do think ESO took the heat off… there was a new Elder Scrolls product and it was ongoing. It was creating new content constantly. There are a lot of people, I mean, I know the single-player people, I’m one of those people–but there are a lot of people to whom The Elder Scrolls is now ESO. That’s their experience with it. That’s what they love. That’s where they got their Elder Scrolls gaming experience, and that’s probably what they want more of.”

Nevertheless, it’s clear that Bethesda is a lot more protective over the Elder Scrolls IP than any of the other franchises it owns.

It also lends credence to the fact that a new singleplayer Elder Scrolls game hasn’t been released in almost 15 years. The developer tends to prioritise one title at a time, so following the release of Skyrim, it’s gone to Fallout 4, and then Starfield.

Following the release of Starfield in 2023, Bethesda shifted gears and picked up production on The Elder Scrolls VI. The sequel was originally announced in 2018, but was stuck in pre-production until Starfield was out the door.

A release date for The Elder Scrolls VI is still unknown, and Bethesda has not shown off any more footage or gameplay since the first announcement.