Timeline
Are we missing anything?
SubmitFilter by
Filters 1
Date
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2011
2026
Microsoft layoffs impact Bethesda as former project lead reacts
As part of Microsoft's broader restructuring of its gaming division, layoffs impacted multiple Xbox and ZeniMax studios, including Bethesda Game Studios. The cuts came amid a wider strategic reset focused on reducing costs and restructuring Xbox following leadership changes earlier in the year. Former Bethesda project lead Jeff Gardiner, who worked on Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 before leaving the studio in 2021, described the news as "heartbreaking," noting that, to his knowledge, Bethesda Game Studios had not experienced layoffs on this scale since around the Morrowind era. He also remarked that many affected developers—including several who had joined Bethesda from the modding community in recent years—appeared to have been caught off guard. Microsoft and Bethesda have not indicated that development of The Elder Scrolls VI has been affected, though the restructuring renewed discussion within the community about Xbox's long-term studio strategy and the prioritization of its largest franchises.
Xbox executive says TES6 "looks amazing" and is progressing well
In an interview published shortly after the 2026 Xbox Games Showcase, Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty addressed community disappointment surrounding the absence of The Elder Scrolls VI from the presentation. Discussing Xbox's approach to major game reveals, Booty explained that teams must balance showing projects early with waiting until the right moment, noting that a public reveal also creates an expectation that a game is coming relatively soon. When specifically asked about TES6, Booty revealed that he had personally visited Bethesda Game Studios, spent time with Todd Howard, and seen the game running. He stated that The Elder Scrolls VI "looks amazing" and is "coming along well," while emphasizing that Xbox and Bethesda intend to reveal the game properly when the timing is right. The comments provided one of the clearest official status updates on TES6 following its absence from the 2026 showcase and further reinforced the view that Bethesda is continuing active development while deliberately holding back a major public reveal.
Todd Howard confirms Creation Engine 3 and major TES6 production progress
During an extensive IGN interview discussing Bethesda Game Studios' future, Todd Howard confirmed that the majority of Bethesda Game Studios and many external partners were now fully focused on The Elder Scrolls VI, marking the project's transition into Bethesda's primary active production effort. Howard also confirmed that TES6 is being developed on Creation Engine 3, describing major technical advancements involving data systems, world loading, content presentation, scalability across different hardware specifications, and broader engine infrastructure improvements. Howard explained that lessons learned from Starfield's difficult engine transition period had significantly improved TES6's development stability and workflow continuity. He also stated that the team was experiencing more stable playable builds than ever before, with new content constantly being added to the game. The interview became one of the most significant technical and production-focused updates ever publicly shared about TES6 and strongly reinforced that the project had advanced well beyond earlier conceptual and design phases into large-scale active development.
NVIDIA announces DLSS 5 with Bethesda participating in reveal
NVIDIA officially announced DLSS 5 on March 16, 2026, unveiling the next generation of its AI-driven rendering and visual fidelity technologies. Bethesda Game Studios was featured as one of NVIDIA's highlighted development partners during the reveal presentation, with Todd Howard briefly appearing to discuss Bethesda's long-standing collaboration with NVIDIA dating back to The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. Howard stated that Bethesda planned to bring DLSS 5 support to Starfield and future Bethesda titles. Within the Elder Scrolls community, the announcement immediately sparked speculation about how The Elder Scrolls VI could leverage advanced AI-assisted rendering, scalability, lighting, and performance technologies as part of Bethesda's next-generation engine roadmap. Many fans also viewed Bethesda's prominent involvement in the reveal as another indicator that TES6's technical foundation was becoming increasingly aligned with cutting-edge PC hardware and long-term graphical scalability.
Howard jokes fans should pretend TES6 was never announced
Todd Howard humorously suggested fans should pretend Bethesda never announced The Elder Scrolls VI at all, openly acknowledging how early the original reveal occurred. The comments reinforced the growing industry narrative that Bethesda likely revealed TES6 primarily to reassure fans after years without a new Elder Scrolls title.
Howard reiterates majority of studio is on TES6
Todd Howard again confirmed that most of Bethesda Game Studios was actively focused on TES6 development and said the team was very happy with progress. However, he cautioned that the project would still take time and remained far from launch.
Reports claim TES6 is using Creation Engine 3
Coverage summarizing Todd Howard interview comments stated that The Elder Scrolls VI would utilize the next iteration of Bethesda's internal engine technology, commonly referred to in reporting as Creation Engine 3. The reporting suggested another significant technical leap beyond Starfield's Creation Engine 2 foundation.
2025
Todd Howard confirms TES6 will have more trees than Skyrim
During a guest appearance in YouTuber Any Austin's video investigating how many trees exist in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Todd Howard jokingly guessed that Skyrim contained “111,111” trees — a reference to Skyrim's famous 11/11/11 release date. Howard was then asked whether The Elder Scrolls VI would contain more or fewer trees than Skyrim. He responded emphatically: “More… most definitely, more.” The moment quickly spread throughout the Elder Scrolls community and became one of the very few direct gameplay/world-related comments Howard had publicly made about TES6. Fans immediately began theorizing that the statement could hint toward a larger world size, denser environments, or even a forest-heavy setting such as Valenwood, though no official setting confirmation accompanied the comment.
Howard says TES6 is progressing really well
Todd Howard stated that development on The Elder Scrolls VI was "progressing really well" and confirmed that the majority of Bethesda Game Studios was now working on the project. This represented one of the strongest official indicators yet that TES6 had transitioned into Bethesda's primary internal production focus after Starfield.
Howard discusses modern Bethesda reveal philosophy
Howard explained that he increasingly prefers shorter marketing windows between reveal and launch and joked about an ideal scenario where games could simply appear close to release. The comments led many fans to speculate that Bethesda regretted announcing TES6 as early as 2018.
Todd Howard says TES6 is still a long way off
In an interview with GQ, Todd Howard acknowledged that fans had waited a very long time for a new Elder Scrolls game and stated that TES6 was still "a long way off." The comments reinforced that the project remained years from release despite Bethesda now focusing more heavily on it internally.
Bethesda surprise releases Oblivion Remastered
Bethesda officially revealed and immediately released The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered on April 22, 2025 for Xbox Series X/S, PC, and PlayStation 5. Developed alongside Virtuos, the remaster rebuilt Oblivion using Unreal Engine 5 visuals while modernizing gameplay systems, UI, animations, audio, and progression mechanics. The surprise "shadow drop" became one of Bethesda's biggest launches in years and reignited massive interest in The Elder Scrolls franchise overall. Within the TES6 community, the release dramatically increased discussion around Bethesda's future Elder Scrolls plans, modernized engine capabilities, remake/remaster strategy, and whether the company was preparing to reintroduce The Elder Scrolls VI publicly in the coming years. Many fans also viewed the launch as evidence that Bethesda was actively rebuilding Elder Scrolls momentum ahead of TES6.
Bethesda launches TES6 character creation charity auction
Bethesda announced a Make-A-Wish charity initiative allowing one fan to collaborate directly with Bethesda Game Studios to create a character that would appear in The Elder Scrolls VI. The announcement became one of the few direct official references to TES6 made by Bethesda since the original reveal.
2024
2023
Starfield officially launches worldwide
Bethesda Game Studios released Starfield globally on September 6, 2023 after years of development and delays. The launch marked the completion of Bethesda's first new universe in decades and represented the major project Todd Howard repeatedly said needed to ship before The Elder Scrolls VI could become Bethesda's primary internal focus. Across the TES community, Starfield's release was widely viewed as the moment Bethesda could finally begin allocating the majority of its studio resources toward TES6 development.
Bethesda confirms TES6 has entered early development
In interviews conducted ahead of Starfield's launch, Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines confirmed that The Elder Scrolls VI had moved into "early development" following years of pre-production and conceptual work. Hines emphasized that Starfield remained Bethesda Game Studios' overwhelming priority and warned fans not to expect significant TES6 news for "a few years" after Starfield's release. The comments marked one of the clearest official development-status updates Bethesda had provided since the game's original 2018 reveal and were widely interpreted by the community as confirmation that TES6 was beginning its transition into more active production following Starfield's completion. The interview also reinforced Bethesda's long-term RPG pipeline structure, with TES6 positioned as the studio's next flagship title ahead of Fallout 5.
2022
Todd Howard discusses TES6 ambitions on Lex Fridman podcast
During a lengthy appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Todd Howard discussed Bethesda Game Studios' long-term ambitions for The Elder Scrolls VI and reflected on the immense cultural impact and longevity of Skyrim. Howard explained that Bethesda views future Elder Scrolls games as opportunities for players to "live another life in another world" and described the studio's broader goal of creating the "ultimate fantasy-world simulator." He also discussed the challenges of balancing deep RPG simulation systems with accessibility, Bethesda's continued commitment to modding communities, and the pressure surrounding TES6 expectations after Skyrim's success. While Howard did not reveal concrete gameplay details or setting information, the interview became one of the most important long-form discussions providing insight into Bethesda's philosophy and aspirations for The Elder Scrolls VI. A few short months after the original Starfield release date in Fall of 2022, Todd sat down for an interview with Lex for almost three hours. In this segment of that interview, Todd gave insight into the development process of an Elder Scrolls game, even describing details about pre-production on TES6. Mentions: • Lunchtime discussions about the world/setting • Bethesda always overlapping development — by the time they reach release on the current game, they already have concept art and are working on music/score • They have had/known the beginning of the game "for a long time" • As soon as the prior game is released, they begin prototyping initial spaces and a first playable (small slice of the game), including samples of dialog and combat • Once a larger, playable chunk is complete, they bring on the rest of the crew for "full production" (1–2 years) • Final 6 months to 1 year of a game: everything is done, but needs "glue" along with ironing out game features and cohesiveness — by then, animations and art are typically already solid
Fallout 5 officially confirmed after TES6
Todd Howard confirmed that Fallout 5 would enter development after The Elder Scrolls VI. This provided one of the clearest looks into Bethesda Game Studios' long-term internal pipeline and further confirmed TES6 remained the studio's next flagship RPG after Starfield.
2021
Howard discusses TES6 technology ambitions
Howard explained that Creation Engine 2 — the technology base developed for Starfield — would also serve as a foundation for TES6, but that the team still needed additional technological advancements specifically for Elder Scrolls VI. The comments suggested TES6's scope and systems were influencing Bethesda's long-term engine roadmap.
Todd Howard says TES6 is still in design phase
Todd Howard stated that The Elder Scrolls VI should still be thought of as being in a design phase. He explained Bethesda was evaluating long-term technology goals and ensuring the engine could support the scale and ambitions of the project. The comments confirmed TES6 was still extremely early internally despite being announced three years earlier.
2020
2019
2018
Bethesda confirms TES6 is in pre-production
Following the reveal trailer, Bethesda clarified that The Elder Scrolls VI was only in pre-production at the time of announcement. This confirmed the project was still in an early conceptual and planning stage rather than active full production. The wording immediately tempered expectations for a near-term release and established that Starfield remained the studio's primary focus.
Starfield confirmed as Bethesda's priority before TES6
Bethesda's E3 presentation and follow-up messaging established the studio's long-term RPG roadmap: Starfield first, then The Elder Scrolls VI. This became one of the most important contextual details around TES6 development timing, as it implied the game was still many years away despite its announcement.
TES6 officially announced at E3 2018
Bethesda Game Studios officially revealed The Elder Scrolls VI during the company's E3 2018 showcase with a short cinematic teaser showing a mountainous coastal region. No subtitle, setting, platforms, release window, or gameplay details were provided. The reveal primarily served to confirm the project's existence after years of speculation following Skyrim's release in 2011. Bethesda simultaneously positioned Starfield as the studio's next major RPG before TES6.