Bethesda Game Studios Producer and Executive Director Todd Howard recently updated fans on the long-awaited The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5. However, while he provided some insight into Bethesda’s plans for both franchises, not all of it will be what every fan wants to hear.
What are the Fallout 5 and The Elder Scrolls 6 updates?
Howard spoke with YouTuber MrMattyPlays in an hour-long video posted Friday. The interview discussed a variety of topics, including Starfield DLC, mods, Creation Club, design philosophy, and more. However, a good portion of the first half of the interview saw him fielding questions about Fallout 5 and Elder Scrolls 6.
Among these questions was how Howard feels about potential spin-offs to bridge the long gap between releases. MrMattyPlays brought up the often discussed potential for Fallout: New Vegas 2 and the series resurgence after the Amazon Prime series. However, while Howard understands the desire for a new mainline Fallout game, the studio doesn’t feel a rush to put one out. Howard is happy with how Fallout 76 is doing and expects to keep it going for many years.
He responded similarly to questions about potential Elder Scrolls spin-offs, noting the success of ESO. However, acknowledged the long wait for The Elder Scrolls 6, which Bethesda announced six years ago, and fans’ desires for a new mainline, single-player game. Beyond that, he also said that the technology Bethesda developed for Starfield will lay the foundation for the next game’s tech. This reaffirms the studio’s commitment to its in-house engine rather than moving to something like Unreal Engine 5. Bethesda is also designing the new game with the assumption it should have a similar 10-year lifespan to Skyrim.
Procedural generation will also play some role in Elder Scrolls 6. However, Howard’s comments suggested it would be closer to how Bethesda employed it in Skyrim and Fallout 76 rather than the heavily procedural Starfield.
