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The Elder Scrolls 6 is at least five years away, says Phil Spencer

The Elder Scrolls 6 might not even be a game that comes out this generation.

Donovan Erskine

June 23, 2023 1:06 PM

Bethesda Softworks

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It’s been a hectic week for Xbox, as the company’s biggest names appeared in court this week to plead their case in defense of their proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard against the FTC. As a result, we’ve been learning a lot about the inner-workings at PlayStation and Microsoft, as well as some details about the distant future for both brands. This included the small detail that Xbox doesn’t expect The Elder Scrolls 6 to release for at least another five years.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer was speaking at the FTC court hearing today when the topic of The Elder Scrolls 6 came up. Specifically, the judge asked about the planned release platforms for the intensely-anticipated RPG, as the idea of Xbox making its popular IP exclusive to its own platforms has been a key talking point of the trial. As quoted by Axios’ Stephen Totilo, Phil Spencer stated that it’s too early to say, and that "We’re talking about a game that’s five-plus years away."

Bethesda had not previously provided an estimated release window for The Elder Scrolls 6, other than saying it had plans to shift development focus to the game after Starfield. While there was speculation that Elder Scrolls 6 was still a long ways out, Spencer’s comments essentially confirm that we shouldn’t expect to see the follow-up to Skyrim release any time soon.

Interestingly enough, Microsoft stated earlier this week that it expects the next generation of PlayStation and Xbox consoles to potentially be released in 2028. If that’s true, we could live in a world where The Elder Scrolls 6 launches alongside the next generation of home consoles.

There has been a slew of details that we’ve learned in the early days of Microsoft’s FTC case, but the comments about Elder Scrolls 6 are quite interesting. Of course, Bethesda’s primary focus right now is finishing up Starfield and ensuring it's ready for its September 2023 release date.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a journalist from Maryland. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge film fanatic and will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_