Rumor tracker Announced, no date
The Elder Scrolls VI: one teaser, a live playthrough, eight asterisks and no date. Everything we know
Bethesda revealed The Elder Scrolls VI in June 2018 and has shown nothing since. Here is what Bethesda and Xbox have said on the record, what a US court case revealed, where the Hammerfell and Sentinel rumors come from and when it might come out.
On June 10, 2018, Bethesda closed its E3 showcase with a teaser that barely counted as one: the title The Elder Scrolls VI, the series theme and a slow view over a stretch of Tamriel. Eight years later that clip is still the only public footage. In August 2026, Xbox chief executive Asha Sharma watched a live playthrough at Bethesda and posted the title with eight asterisks where a subtitle would go.
The short version: no release date, no year, no platforms and no price. Bethesda Game Studios calls the game its “primary development focus” and builds it on Creation Engine 3. A 2023 Microsoft slide made public in a US court case said 2026 or later, and reporters in 2026 point to 2028 or later. Xbox says platforms come when it dates the game.
A teaser, then a long wait
When Bethesda posted the teaser, it said the game was in pre-production at Bethesda Game Studios, the team behind Skyrim and Fallout 4. Starfield, revealed the same night, would go first.
On March 9, 2021, Microsoft completed its purchase of ZeniMax Media, Bethesda’s parent company. That June, studio head Todd Howard said the game was best thought of as still in design. A year later Howard said it was still in pre-production, with Fallout 5 to follow.
Rumors ran ahead of the studio. In April 2022 an insider on X claimed the game was in full development and aiming for 2025 or 2026, a claim Howard contradicted on June 14, 2022. An employee’s LinkedIn profile from early 2022 had it right: pre-production, with Starfield the only game in full production.
What a court case revealed
The most candid timeline came under oath. At the FTC’s hearing against Microsoft on June 23, 2023, Xbox chief Phil Spencer said the game was likely “five-plus years away” and that it was “difficult for us right now to nail down exactly what platforms” it would launch on.
That September, an internal Microsoft slide from the case went further. It listed the release as “TBC, but expected 2026 or later”, and its planned platforms did not include PlayStation. Both claims are still holding.
From design to early builds
On Aug. 29, 2023, days before Starfield launched on Xbox Series X|S and PC, Pete Hines, then Bethesda’s head of publishing, said: “It’s in development, but it’s in early development.” In March 2024 Bethesda Game Studios posted that the team was “playing early builds”.
In November 2025 Howard called the game “still a long way off” and asked fans for patience. By June 2026 it was “our biggest project right now”, with “the majority of the studio” on it. “We know we need to get it right, and it’s been a long time,” Howard said.
Outsiders have seen it running. Xbox content chief Matt Booty said in June 2026, after seeing it playing at Bethesda: “it looks amazing, and it’s coming along well.” Sharma called the scale of the August playthrough “incredible”. A reporter who covers Xbox said in June 2025 that Bethesda shows internal trailers inside the company, a claim still holding. None has reached the public.
A new engine and a classic style
On a livestream on Feb. 18, 2026, Howard said the studio had spent “the last several years” turning Creation Engine 2, the engine behind Starfield, into Creation Engine 3, and that the game is “coming back to that classic style”. Bethesda says Fallout 5 uses the same engine.
Two loose ends remain. A reporter who covers Xbox said in December 2025 that Bethesda is folding a few Unreal Engine features into its own engine, a claim still holding. And an April 2023 Bethesda Game Studios Montreal job listing asked for Elder Scrolls Construction Set experience and familiarity with open-world multiplayer games. It never named the game, and Bethesda has never mentioned multiplayer.
All roads lead to Hammerfell
Bethesda has not named the setting. The rumor mill named it years ago. The April 2022 insider claimed Hammerfell, home of the Redguards, with factions that matter and no dragons. The Hammerfell claim is still holding, though later anonymous posts say dragons return.
An anonymous image-board post in November 2024, later repeated by a leaker with a mixed record, added parts of High Rock around the Iliac Bay, naval battles, underwater exploration, 12 to 13 major cities and settlement building. An August 2026 image-board post from a self-described outside contractor described a Mediterranean-style coast, forest to the north and desert to the east, built with photogrammetry and new ray-traced lighting.
Eight asterisks and a hidden number
The name may be hiding in another game. Every Starfield player gets the same employee number, 190514-2009140512. Read as letter positions, it spells SENTINEL, a city and kingdom in Hammerfell. Players decoded it on Aug. 31, 2023, and took it as the next subtitle.
On Aug. 11, 2026, Sharma and Bethesda Game Studios both wrote the title with eight asterisks after it. Sentinel has eight letters. The same day, a former Elder Scrolls writer who left Bethesda years ago replied to the theory in a forum with one word: “Yep.” The theory is still holding.
Layoffs and an unaffected roadmap
On July 6, 2026, Xbox said it would shrink its team by about 3,200 people through fiscal 2027, including at Bethesda and ZeniMax, and that no publicly announced first-party game was being canceled. Current and former staff then told a games site that more than 50 Bethesda Game Studios jobs were gone, and that they fear delays and crunch, a report still holding. A laid-off designer’s LinkedIn mention of an “unreleased” Elder Scrolls title sparked talk of a second game until July 31, when the designer said it meant The Elder Scrolls VI. Bethesda pushed back. On July 17 it said ZeniMax Online Studios will partner on the series, and added: “We’re where we planned to be.” A week later came four words: “The roadmap is unaffected.”
Xbox, PlayStation and the price question
In November 2021 Spencer said Xbox wants “the full complete package” of its games, this one included. The lineup has opened up since. Oblivion Remastered launched on April 22, 2025, on Xbox, PC, cloud and PlayStation 5, with Game Pass on day one, and Starfield reached PS5 on April 7, 2026. Booty says Xbox will talk about platform exclusivity “when we date something”. Asked in August whether exclusivity is a priority, Sharma said only: “It’s a beautiful game.” There is no price, and none has leaked. Skyrim launched at $59.99 in 2011 and Starfield at $69.99 in 2023.
When it might come out
The guesses cluster late. A leaker with a mixed record said in a September 2025 video that it is a big fall release for late 2027, possibly timed with the next Xbox. A reporter who covers Xbox said in May 2026 that a Fallout remake could come in 2027 and this game a year or two later, in 2028 or 2029, though the reporter could not fully confirm it. In July a veteran games reporter at a business news service called it “2 to 3 years away at least”. All three are still holding. The trailer calls fared worse. A leaker with a mixed record pointed to a July 2025 showing that never came, and the game skipped Xbox’s showcases on June 8, 2025, and June 7, 2026.
What to watch next
No event or date is set. Booty has tied platform news to the moment Xbox dates the game, so expect platform news only once there is a date. The subtitle behind the eight asterisks is the other reveal to watch, along with the ESRB database, which lists no rating today. We update this story as soon as Bethesda names a date or shows new footage.
Our latest report: The Elder Scrolls 6 release date: not announced, eight years after the teaser
Elder Scrolls 6 FAQ
When does The Elder Scrolls VI come out?
Bethesda has not given a date or a year. A 2023 Microsoft slide said 2026 or later, and 2026 reports point to 2028 or later.
Is The Elder Scrolls VI coming to PS5?
Not announced. Xbox says it will talk about platforms when it dates the game. A 2023 Microsoft slide listed no PlayStation version, but Oblivion Remastered and Starfield have since come to PS5.
Will The Elder Scrolls VI be on Game Pass?
Not announced. Bethesda’s recent games, Starfield and Oblivion Remastered, both launched on Game Pass on day one.
Where is The Elder Scrolls VI set?
Bethesda has not said. The most repeated rumor is Hammerfell, home of the Redguards, sometimes with parts of High Rock.
Has The Elder Scrolls VI been canceled?
No. Xbox said its July 2026 job cuts canceled no announced game. Bethesda called it its primary focus on July 17 and said on July 24 that its roadmap is unaffected.
Is there a new Elder Scrolls VI trailer?
No. The only public footage is the 2018 teaser. Xbox’s chief executive watched a live playthrough in August 2026, but nothing was shown to the public.
What engine does The Elder Scrolls VI use?
Creation Engine 3, an upgrade of the engine behind Starfield. Bethesda says Fallout 5 uses it too.
What is The Elder Scrolls VI subtitle?
Not announced. Xbox’s chief executive wrote eight asterisks after the title in August 2026. Fans think it is Sentinel, an eight-letter word hidden as a number in Starfield.
How much will The Elder Scrolls VI cost?
No price has been announced or leaked. Skyrim launched at $59.99 in 2011 and Starfield at $69.99 in 2023.
Who is making The Elder Scrolls VI?
Bethesda Game Studios, the team behind Skyrim and Starfield, led by Todd Howard. Microsoft owns it, and ZeniMax Online Studios will partner on the series.