The announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6 is exactly eight years old. The Skyrim follow-up was revealed on Sunday, June 10, 2018, during Bethesda’s E3 conference in Los Angeles, with a teaser trailer that offered fans next to nothing. And in the eight years since, fans still know next to nothing.
It was yet another no-show for The Elder Scrolls 6 at the Xbox Games Showcase last week, and as we’ve reported, fans are starting to worry about how old they’re getting waiting for the sequel to the all-conquering Skyrim. When will The Elder Scrolls 6 be revealed properly? Later this year? Next year? 2028? It’s hard to say at this point.
In an interview with Variety, Xbox chief content officer Matt Booty didn’t give away much at all about The Elder Scrolls 6, but did suggest that when Bethesda does get around to showing it off, it will signal that the game itself will be released soon. Booty also offered some reassurance, saying he’s visited Bethesda to watch The Elder Scrolls 6 being played, and “it’s coming along well.” As for when the reveal will be… “at the right time.”
“I would say one of the more challenging balancing acts of someone in a job like mine is balancing that you want to go show the world all the cool stuff you’re working on, and you want to get them excited early, but we also know that we want to wait till the right moment,” Booty said.
“And when you decide to show it, you want it to be the best you’ve got. And also that when you show the game, you’re also giving them a promise of, hey, it’s coming soon. So I can tell you, having visited Bethesda and sat with Todd and seen Elder Scrolls playing, it looks amazing, and it’s coming along well. And we’ll make sure to announce it and really reveal it at the right time.”
The last time Todd Howard talked about The Elder Scrolls 6 was in March 2026, when he joked that we should all pretend Bethesda hadn’t announced it. This is a recurring theme; in February, Howard admitted — once again — that he would have preferred not to have announced the game so early.
Howard has warned eager fans as recently as last November that the game is “still a long way off,” and has even teased that he may just shadow-drop it. He reiterated in February that “it’s gonna be a while yet,” and confirmed that, “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.”
But Howard has also claimed all this waiting is necessary for the game to be great.
“What do fans really want?” he said in December of last year. “Do they want a game that comes out before it should and doesn’t meet their expectations? Or do they want the turkey that is in the oven for long enough to be delicious when it finally comes out of the oven, you know? That’s what I think people are going to want. So, we’re going to take our time and as long as it needs to be great.”
Here’s everything announced at Xbox Games Showcase 2026, if you fancy reading about loads of video games that aren’t The Elder Scrolls VI.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
