The Elder Scrolls 6 Update Quietly Issued As Controversial Change Teased
Topics: Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls 6, Xbox, Microsoft
Featured Image Credit: Bethesda Softworks
Topics: Bethesda, The Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls 6, Xbox, Microsoft
The Elder Scrolls VI failed to surface during the recent annual Xbox Showcase.
Although Bethesda did stop by, it did so only with updates for live service titles The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76.
At this point, we’re used to The Elder Scrolls VI being a no-show. That being said, its reappearance does feel overdue.
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Starfield dropped its first significant teaser trailer in 2021, three years after the launch of Bethesda’s former mainline release Fallout 76.
It then ended up launching in 2023, so five years after Fallout 76.
We’re now three years on from Starfield’s launch so if Bethesda was to follow the same pattern, we’d have expected a teaser trailer for The Elder Scrolls VI this year.
Clearly, development is taking a while. Yet despite The Elder Scrolls VI being a no show, one controversial change was quietly teased during Sunday’s event.
Gears of War: E-Day took centre stage during the opening moments of the show with a first look at gameplay for the highly anticipated prequel.
A launch date was confirmed, 6 October, with new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma then popping up to announce that Gears of War: E-Day would be an Xbox exclusive title.
This reverses, at least partially, the policy of former leaders Phil Spencer and Sarah Bond.
In recent years, Spencer and Bond opted for a cross-party launch approach, hoping to share Xbox’s first-party titles with a wider audience.
For example, South of Midnight, Starfield, and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle were among some of the games ported over to the PlayStation 5.
Long-time loyalists of the green brand shared their dismay.
Xbox has somewhat sat in PlayStation’s shadow for a number of years; how is ridding Xbox of exclusives ever going to help it make a comeback as a destination brand?
Clearly, Sharma felt much the same as she teased that Gears of War: E-Day’s exclusivity is just the start, with 2027 launch Clockwork Revoltion also noted as another example.
Fable and Halo: Campaign Evolved remain due to launch for the PlayStation 5 as, apparently, those deals are already locked in at retailers.
You have to look further ahead though towards what this might mean for The Elder Scrolls VI, especially as Sharma is teasing that this is a new era for Xbox with exclusives being at the forefront of that.
After GTA VI, The Elder Scrolls VI is perhaps among the most anticipated games out there. That’s a very powerful thing to have in your backpocket.
With The Elder Scrolls VI increasingly looking like a next-gen title with the next-gen only a handful of years away, it could be a very powerful move for Xbox to make it a first-party exclusive.
This will be the first mainline Elder Scrolls entry to launch since Microsoft acquired Bethesda.
Sure, Xbox might shift more copies of The Elder Scrolls VI by catering to PlayStation users, but making the title exclusive would be an Xbox hardware seller - and executives will be weighing up which path is more lucrative.
This is all speculative, of course. That being said, my inkling is that The Elder Scrolls VI will be an Xbox exclusive given the events of recent days.
It’s perhaps safer to assume that might be the case, especially if it means you might want to pick up an Xbox. That’s more time to save.
READ MORE: Gears of War: E-Day Drops Gameplay First Look, Xbox Exclusive Launching October