The Elder Scrolls 6 Will Return to Bethesda's 'Classic Style' After Fallout 76 and Starfield, Says Todd Howard

Bethesda director Todd Howard has shared an update on the development of The Elder Scrolls 6. Seven years after the game's reveal, Howard says it's “going to be a while yet” before the Skyrim sequel releases. The Bethesda veteran, however, confirmed that the studio was about to reach a “big milestone” internally on the project, and said The Elder Scrolls 6 would be more of a “classic style” Bethesda game like Oblivion and Skyrim.

Howard was spoke on a range of topics, from The Elder Scrolls 6 to Starfield, on the latest episode of the Kinda Funny Games podcast on Wednesday. The studio director reiterated his previous update on the project, saying that development on the game was “going well” and Bethesda was “happy with it,” but said it was still “going to be a while yet” before The Elder Scrolls 6 was ready for launch.

Howard, however, did confirm — without sharing details — that Bethesda was coming up on a major internal milestone on the project.

“We're happy with where we pushed the technology and how the game is coming together. We're able to play it. We're about to pass a big milestone internally,” he said.

Howard, who served as game director on Starfield, Fallout 4, and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, said the majority of the studio was working on the The Elder Scrolls 6, along with some of its partners.

He also said that most of his personal time was being spent on developing The Elder Scrolls 6, even as Bethesda is believed to be working on multiple projects. Additionally, he confirmed that the majority of the developers who worked on Skyrim were still at Bethesda and were working on the next Elder Scrolls.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Returns to Bethesda's 'Classic Style'

Bethesda's recent mainline games have been a departure from its traditional output. Fallout 76, released in 2018, is a multiplayer live service title, while Starfield, released in 2023, comes with features not seen in older games from the studios. Howard confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 would mark a return to the studio's “classic style.”

“In many ways, Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from kind of that classic Elder Scrolls, Fallout — a Skyrim, or a Fallout 3, or Fallout 4, Oblivion — where you're exploring a world in a certain way. And as we come back to Elder Scrolls 6 that we're doing now, we're coming back to that classic style that we've missed that we know really, really well,” Howard said.

The studio director added that Bethesda had spent the last few years updating its in-house Creation Engine 2, which was utilised in Starfield, to Creation Engine 3, which will be underlying engine for “Elder Scrolls 6 and beyond.”

Bethesda and Howard have shared little information about The Elder Scrolls 6 beyond vague updates on the game's development progress. Last year in November, Howard said the game was still “a long way off,” even though he acknowledged it had been “too long” since the last main Elder Scrolls game.

In December, several Bethesda executives, including Howard, shared updates on the project, with Howard saying development on the game was “progressing really well.” Studio director Angela Browder talked about the technological advancements coming with The Elder Scrolls 6 and said the “endless set of possibilities” of the game was “exciting.” Bethesda design director Emil Pagliarulo added that the studio would take as much time as was needed for the game to turn out great.

The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda's long-awaited follow-up to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, was announced at E3 in 2018 with a brief teaser. In the seven years since, E3 is no more, while work on the project continues.

Bethesda is separately also believed to be working on unannounced Fallout projects. Starfield, too, is set to get a major update at some point this year, along with a reported release on PS5.