The Elder Scrolls 6 graphics teased, and we all missed it

Bethesda and Nvidia may have shown off a little about the graphics potential of The Elder Scrolls 6, and we’re not sure what to think about it.

We’re probably still a few years away from being able to see The Elder Scrolls 6 in action, but that doesn’t mean Bethesda hasn’t already started releasing little teasers.

The release of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered earlier this year hinted at what a new Elder Scrolls game released on this generation of hardware could look like, and it seems like the same might be said about this new teaser.

At GDC (Game Developers Conference) earlier this year, Nvidia’s opening session revealed that it was working with Bethesda on new neural rendering and digital human technologies to create human faces.

If you’re not aware of what it is, neural faces are basically faces for NPCs that use generative AI for rendering.

It means that developers use AI algorithms to create facial expressions, character movements and even voices in real-time, and adapt it to different emotions and lighting conditions.

At least, that’s the bridge being sold here. Generative AI has been controversial for various reasons, namely its questionable use of intellectual property, environmental concerns, and the overall quality of the final result just doesn’t match hand-crafted art made by humans.

Nvidia uses a side-by-side comparison of Andreja from Starfield as an example, with the left-hand side showing her from the base game and the right-hand side showing her with the Neural Face rendering activated.

To be honest, I don’t think it looks great. It has the same kind of “uncanny valley” face that AI-generated images have, and I don’t like it. It’s too smooth. The roughness and emotion to Andreja seems to have dissipated, and she doesn’t seem as expressive as before. It sucks all the character out of her.

I guess it remains to be seen whether or not Bethesda will implement this technology into The Elder Scrolls 6.

The game is still in the early development stages, and probably won’t be seen for at least another year or two.