Todd Howard Shares Update On 'Elder Scrolls VI'

Bethesda Game Director Todd Howard shared a new update on the status of Elder Scrolls VI indicating the game would be a return to the company’s traditional creative style.

In an interview on the Kinda Funny Gamescast, Howard was asked, “As we see the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 and all the choices and consequences there, as we see people continue to push it and get nerdy with it-. I think of the Outerworld 2 and the way they did perks and stuff like this, do you guys batten down the hatches and you’re committed to your engine, and this is what we’re making, and this is how it’s going to be or are you letting things come in, influence, and do you see that changing as everything evolves?”

Howard responded, “I think if you look at our games we’ve sort of always evolved. We do have a certain style that we like and our fans like that. We want to get better and better at.”

“I think in some ways, 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,” he continued. “As we come back to Elder Scrolls VI that we’re doing now, we’re coming back to that kind of classic style that we’ve missed. That we know really, really well.”

As for the engine the game will run on, Howard shared it would be Creation Engine 3, “We spent the last several years bringing Creation Engine 2, which powers Starfield, up to Creation Engine 3 that’s going to power Elder Scrolls VI and beyond.”

“Obviously, we do all the rendering things. We’re really happy with the new stuff that we’re doing, but also kind of world systems loading, how we bring things into the world, how we get that detail close to the camera kind of immediately. But it’s still, you know, we have a style of game that we really, really like that I think people expect from us. And there’s a lot of innovation to be done there still. So when you step into a world, you feel like you’re experiencing it, really, for the first time, a game like that.”

“I think we’re happy with where it’s headed right now. That’s what I could say,” he added.

As for when it might release, he indicated it won’t be any time soon, “We’re happy with it. It’s going to be awhile yet. 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. The majority of the studio is on the game and some of our partners.”

NEXT: 'No Rest For The Wicked' Creator Trashes AAA Games Industry's Generic Art Styles, Uses 'Highguard' As An Example