Todd Howard, director of The Elder Scrolls 6, has finally revealed the most concrete detail on its development status yet (aside from reiterating that it’s a long way off). Speaking to Kinda Funny Games (transcription via Kotaku), he confirmed that the fantasy role-playing game is developed on Creation Engine 3.
Furthermore, The Elder Scrolls 6 is a return to what fans may know Bethesda best for. “In many ways, Fallout 76 and Starfield are a little bit of a creative detour from kind of that classic Elder Scrolls, Fallout, where you are exploring a world in a certain way. As we come back to Elder Scrolls 6 that we are doing now, we are coming back to that classic style that we’ve missed, that we know really, really well.
“We have a style of game we really, really like, that people expect from us, and there is a lot of innovation to be done there still, so when you step into a world, you feel like you are experiencing it for the first time. We’re happy with where [Elder Scrolls 6] is headed right now.”
While he didn’t explicitly state this as the reason for the long development cycle, Bethesda has spent “the last several years bringing Creation Engine 2, which powers Starfield, up to Creation Engine 3, which is going to power Elder Scrolls 6 and beyond.”
If that wasn’t enough, it’s soon crossing a “big milestone.” Despite how smoothly things are going, however, Howard said it’s “going to be a while yet.” Nevertheless, for fans who have waited a long time for something, anything, about the project’s status, it’s good to have some concrete details (though hearing that it has more trees than Skyrim is neat).
Of course, it wouldn’t be surprising if there’s some concern about Bethesda’s continued usage of the Creation Engine. While there was hype surrounding the improvements made to Starfield, the latter ultimately fell off for many. Then again, given the amount of time passed, the development team may have some substantial changes in hand.
Time will ultimately tell, and until then, The Elder Scrolls 6 still lacks a release date or confirmed platforms (but you can safely assume it’s coming to PC).
