The Elder Scrolls VI still has no release date, no gameplay footage, and no confirmed setting more than eight years after Bethesda teased it at E3 2018. The studio has said repeatedly through 2026 that the game remains its top priority, but Todd Howard continues to describe it as "a long way off."
What Bethesda has actually confirmed
Bethesda Game Studios revealed The Elder Scrolls VI with a brief landscape teaser on June 10, 2018, showing no gameplay, characters, or location names. The day after, Howard confirmed the game was in pre-production and not yet playable.
That changed by late 2025. In a November 2025 interview with GQ, Howard said the team had run a large internal playtest and that the game is now playable, but cautioned fans to be patient, calling the wait "too long" while insisting it's "still a long way off." He also floated the idea of a surprise release along the lines of 2025's Oblivion Remastered, which Bethesda shadow-dropped with no advance marketing window.
Through 2026, Howard has repeated that most of Bethesda Game Studios is now working on The Elder Scrolls VI, built on an updated version of the Creation Engine the studio used for Starfield. Following a round of layoffs at Xbox's parent company Microsoft, Howard told press in July that The Elder Scrolls VI remains the studio's top priority, with Fallout 5 still in early pre-production behind it.
The Elder Scrolls VI was absent again from the Xbox Games Showcase on June 7, 2026. Days later, Xbox Chief Content Officer Matt Booty told reporters he had personally watched the game running at Bethesda's studio alongside Howard and described it in positive terms, but said Microsoft won't show it publicly again until it can pair the reveal with a credible release window. "When you show the game, you're also giving them a promise," Booty said.
Setting: still unconfirmed, still rumored to be Hammerfell
Bethesda has never confirmed where The Elder Scrolls VI takes place. Fan speculation has centered on Hammerfell or High Rock for years, partly based on the 2018 teaser's landscape and partly on a cryptic 2020 social post from the official Elder Scrolls account that paired the line "transcribe the past and map the future" with an unlabeled map resembling Hammerfell. None of this is official, and Bethesda hasn't addressed the location since.
Platforms: Xbox and PC confirmed, PlayStation unresolved
A Microsoft court document made public during the 2023 FTC v. Microsoft trial listed The Elder Scrolls VI for Xbox and PC only, with Xbox's Phil Spencer testifying at the time that a PlayStation version was "technically TBD." Bethesda and Microsoft haven't issued a public update on PS5 availability since, so Xbox and PC remain the only platforms anyone has put on record.
Release window: no date, but insiders point to 2028 or later
Neither Bethesda nor Microsoft has stated a release year. Industry reporting, including from Xbox-focused insider Jez Corden, has pointed to an internal Bethesda roadmap suggesting a 2028 or 2029 launch. That is secondhand reporting, not a studio statement, and should be treated as speculation rather than fact.
What's still unknown
Bethesda hasn't confirmed a setting, release window, platform list beyond Xbox and PC, or whether the next public showing will include gameplay. Gamingonix will update this article as Bethesda or Xbox share anything further.
Emma covers gaming news and industry announcements for Gamingonix, reporting on releases, reveals and the stories moving fast.
