The Elder Scrolls VI is only in pre-production and may not hit gamers' hard drives for years yet.
Originally reported by PCGamesN, this rather disappointing information comes courtesy of a Bethesda Game Studio employee's LinkedIn profile which states that - at the current time - The Elder Scrolls VI is only in "pre-production".
It should perhaps come as no surprise that the game is so far from release. Bethesda is currently in full development of the eagerly anticipated open-world space RPG, Starfield. That game is expected out later this year, having been announced by Bethesda the E3 2018.
The Elder Scrolls VI was announced at the same time - with this trailer - but Bethesda clearly feels they only have the capacity for one open-world epic.
And you can't really blame them for holding out. Video game production budgets are skyrocketing - just ask the similarly ambitious Rockstar- and it is hardly like enthusiasm for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has waned.
That title recently celebrated its tenth birthday with a new Anniversary edition and continues to be shown love by a motivated and Bestheda supported modding community.
As it stands, very little is known about The Elder Scrolls VI, even its title and primary location are yet to be revealed, all we do know is that expectations are high, a fact the developers are all too aware of.
Speaking to GQ last year, Todd Howard, executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, said The Elder Scrolls VI has got to be a "decade game" a reference to Skyrim's enduring popularity.
When Will Elder Scrolls 6 Come Out?
If we knew exactly we might well be a character from the fantasy RPG but it's safe to say that - at the very least - we are two years, or until 2024 before we have a realistic chance of seeing Elder Scrolls VI - and even that seems optimistic.
Though if you are an optimist, there are reasons to be. Starfield is an entirely new IP and a generational leap in technology and it is likely the long hours on the latter will directly help with the production of Elder Scrolls VI.
In the time since Bethesda announced both titles, their parent company ZeniMax was purchased by Microsoft in a $7.5 billion deal. We know that will make the future games (Ghostwire Tokyo excluded) 'exclusive' to Xbox consoles and PC but it may also help with the resources to get the game into players' hands.
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