Behind Half-Life 3, I think the Elder Scrolls VI might've been one of the most anticipated games of all time—and thankfully Bethesda finally delivered some "information" on the long-awaited game. The meager amount of information came in the form of a 36-second trailer that just showed us what the new logo would look like, but that didn't stop millions of gamers from voicing their drooling excitement on Reddit and looking through the teaser for any hidden details.
Fans have been clamoring to find out as much as they can about the game, but at this time there just really isn't much to go on. Mix the lack of information with the two facts that Bethesda is being extremely tight-lipped (rightfully so) and the game is still deep on the back burner and it becomes fairly easy to feel a little less hyped for The Elder Scrolls VI.
But fanboys and gamers are pretty dang impressive to say the least—even with all the odds stacked up against them, people still found ways to claw out every subtle detail from the 30-second teaser trailer. This type of analysis would probably impressive even the most eagle-eyed detectives, but we're just happy to have fans and gamers go to these great lengths to find out anything about their favorite franchise.
So today we're going to compile all the information that is (basically) been confirmed, and we're also going to look at the rumor mill to see what has a really good chance of making it into the game. And hopefully, by the end, we can provide some insight as to what Bethesda has in store for us in the next chapter of the Elder Scrolls series.
25 We Know: A Release Around 2020
This game is far, far on the back burner for Bethesda, and it’s the reason that many fans thought we wouldn’t be seeing anything about the Elder Scrolls 6 at E3.
But it seemed like Bethesda just couldn’t hang on to the secret any longer, showing fans that yes, the game is coming, eventually.
From the 30-second teaser trailer, we didn’t see any gameplay, or really anything in-engine indicating to many that this game is still ways off. Hopefully, it doesn’t get delayed and we’re back in Tamriel by 2020.
24 Likely Rumor: The Location Is Either Hammerfell Or High Rock
Leave it to fans to literally get a 30-second teaser trailer and already narrow down the two likeliest places for our next story to take place. When looking at the official Tamriel map you can see that the location shown off in the trailer vaguely resembles details on the map.
In the case of High Rock, you can see that there are rocks, and they’re indeed very high up.
And for Hammerfell, you basically see the same details but the direction of the sun is also in the location it would be in if it were taking place in Hammerfell.
23 Likely Rumor: A Release For The Switch
A ton of (hopeful) rumors have been spreading around about the possible release of Fallout 76 on the Switch, but to be honest we’d be much more excited for an Elder Scrolls 6 release. Bethesda can still put a myriad of old Fallout games on the switch before adding 76.
So we think it’d be a lot more interesting if they released the new Elder Scrolls game on the Switch.
This is definitely one of the least likely rumors on this list, but since Bethesda now has a great relationship with Nintendo we think anything's possible.
22 We Know: Bethesda Is Working On Starfield First
During Bethesda’s press conference we not only got one cryptic teaser trailer, but two! The other game announced was the project that many assumed Bethesda was working on behind the scenes, a new RPG set in the depths of space called Starfield.
Currently, Bethesda is spending a ton of resources to ensure this game comes out soon, and it comes out right.
It’s already been confirmed that Starfield is coming out before The Elder Scrolls 6, adding further proof that the game will come out around 2020.
21 Likely Rumor: The Game Is Set Around Skyrim And Oblivion
Oblivion and Skyrim might be 200 years apart, but that’s relatively close if you look at The Elder Scrolls timeline. Almost every game in the past has always been somewhat set around the previous game just so you can see subtle hints of the deeds you performed in the last game.
Skyrim gave us plenty nods to the hero from Oblivion and we think the newest game will possibly allude to the actions of the Dragonborn.
If the game does take place after Skyrim then it will also be interesting to see if dragons are still lingering around.
20 Likely Rumor: Some Sort Of Multiplayer Content
It’s safe to say that Bethesda at this point has an infatuation with multiplayer—with games like Quake making a return, continued support for The Elder Scrolls Online, and now the release of Fallout 76, we’re gonna bet The Elder Scrolls 6 might follow the trend.
At this moment all we can do is speculate but if you see some multiplayer content in Starfield then it’s going to feel all too obvious as to whether The Elder Scrolls 6 will get the same treatment.
19 We Know: The Trailer Does In Fact Contain Subtle Hints
It’s good to know that the hours of detailed analysis on a 30-second video haven’t gone to waste, because Todd Howard himself confirmed that there are in fact some hidden details in the teaser trailer for The Elder Scrolls 6.
Slowly but surely I feel like Todd Howard is replacing Valve’s Gabe Newell as “god” of all that is gaming.
This confirmation by Howard validated the search for hidden details in the new trailer, and it gives us hope that some of these rumors are correct. Thanks, Todd.
18 Likely Rumor: Home-Building Will Be A Big Component
A trend that has been pretty polarizing amongst Bethesda fans is their push for settlement building within their games. Personally, I fall in the middle of the two, not really enjoying the settlement building that was shoved down our throats in Fallout 4, but I’d say I’m optimistic and slightly worried about its inclusion in Fallout 76.
Based on Bethesda’s current track record, and for the fact that we got home building in Skyrim, we’d say it’s a safe bet that you will see some form of settlement building. If Bethesda gets this feature right finally, then we’re all for it.
17 We Know: It Will Take Place On The Continent Of Tamriel
In case you're not the most diehard of Elder Scrolls fans, here’s a map detailing the entire world. The world, as we know it at least is kind of like a Pangea meets modern day world—most of the countries are clumped together and there’s three large territories in general.
Throughout the whole franchise, we’ve only seen the continent of Tamriel, and it’s pretty safe to assume that we will stay there for now.
There’s still so much to explore in Tamriel that we doubt Bethesda would leave the continent now.
16 Likely Rumor: Virtual Reality Is Coming Back
There’s still plenty of people that have yet to experience the wonders of VR, but it’s no secret that the future of games lies in the hands of virtual reality—and we think it’s safe to say that Bethesda still has their hat in the VR ring.
Skyrim and Fallout VR offered mind-blowing experiences and we only expect virtual reality to get crazier from here on out.
Hopefully, VR headsets are a tad cheaper by the time The Elder Scrolls VI rolls out so that everyone is given the opportunity to truly experience the game.
15 Likely Rumor: A New Game Engine
Bethesda fans have wanted to see this for years, as we’ve all grown a little tired of seeing the same old engine that continues to power Bethesda games. This engine, while revolutionary at the time of its release, is in serious need of an update.
Wake up, Bethesda! We need a new engine, and we need it now!
The graphics can only get so far on this outdated engine, and many of the bad animations, which have become a staple for Bethesda, can be attributed to the engine as well.
14 We Know: The Game Will Release On Next Gen Consoles
Consoles are on the brink of making their next step—we’ve already seen multiple versions of the Xbox One and PS4, and many gamers are predicting that we’ll see new consoles next E3.
While it’s up in the air as to when these new consoles will drop, it’s more than safe to say that the newest Elder Scrolls game will be featured on the next line of consoles.
The game is probably being made for this generation as well, but with the game being as close to us as 2020 there’s just no way that we don’t have new consoles by then.
13 Likely Rumor: Reworked Storytelling
In recent years Bethesda has insisted on improving their storytelling in an attempt to deliver a story that is truly unforgettable. In a way, they tried this with Fallout 4, offering a fully voiced protagonist for the first time.
And overall, the story was, well, good. It was far from great, but we’re hoping that Bethesda continues this trend in an attempt to craft a great story for this game.
Who knows, we might even see another fully voiced protagonist. But at the very least, let's just hope for some better dialogue options than Fallout 4.
12 Likely Rumor: The Story Will Center Around Thalmor Conflict
Whether you hate Skyrim or not, it’s impossible to deny that the story didn’t take us to new places. The game was set 200 years after Oblivion and gave us a new look at the governing parties involved in Tamriel.
Other than that, we also had a new central enemy, the Thalmor.
Through Skyrim, you only get to stop the Thalmor from completely taking over Skyrim, and meddling in your plans. Now we might have the opportunity to take on the group directly in The Elder Scrolls VI, but only time will tell.
11 We Know: The Game Is Still In Pre-Production
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we’ve already said a million times that the game is centuries away, but we still thought it was important to highlight what stage the game is in right now.
Currently, the game is in pre-production, kind of like that stage where you're mapping out how to do a 20-page paper but you’re just too lazy to get started on it.
This being said though, a ton still happens in pre-production so don’t think that Bethesda is currently doing nothing. They might not get a lot done, but we’re happy knowing they’re doing something.
10 Likely Rumor: We Might Be Leaving Tamriel
Okay, I know I said the game would be set in Tamriel, and we still 100% know that this is true. Buuuuuuut, there is a chance that we might have the opportunity to leave Tamriel in the game, or we might see some add-ons that allow us to leave.
The biggest hints of this are that the suspected locations are on the coasts of Tamriel, and Bethesda could be ready to show us the rest of the world, you know, with this being their 6th game and all.
9 Likely Rumor: Mods Will Come Back
I contemplated putting this one in the “we know” category, but with Bethesda, you can’t always be too sure. As soon as you like something they might pull a fast one on you and take something you love and turn it into an abomination (*cough* *cough* Creation Club *cough*).
But there’s basically a 99.9% chance that we see mods again in this new game.
And hopefully, mods are available on all systems including the Nintendo Switch (Which I’m still hoping for a release in general)
8 We Know: The Leading Theory For The Location Is High Rock
Yup, yell at us all you want for putting a theory in the “we know” section, but we’re going to say that TECHNICALLY we do know that the leading theory is, in fact, High Rock.
We’ll get into the semantics later, but for now, it’s important to know that most fans at the moment are leaning towards High Rock as the next location.
Sure the details are scarce but High Rock was the leading theory when the trailer dropped and it’s still the leading theory as we speak.
7 Likely Rumor: We’ll Get A Hardcore, Or Survival, Game Mode
While we’ve seen game modes like this in the Fallout the franchise, we’ve yet to see a survival type game mode in an Elder Scrolls game, and the series is seriously overdue.
Survival type game modes only enhance the experience making it more challenging, but also more rewarding in the end.
The Fallout games have all included a survival game mode since New Vegas and it looks like 76 will follow suit. Hopefully, we see a game mode like this in the next Elder Scrolls game.
6 We Know: The Logo Represents Dwemer Metals
Fun fact, the Skyrim logo actually represents Skyforge steel and it’s now pretty much known that the Elder Scrolls VI logo will represent Dwemer metals.
The logo itself was a big indicator before Skyrim dropped that we would be seeing the Skyforge in the game so we’re assuming that the Dwemer will play a big role in the newest game.
Leave it to fans to even analyze the logo, so pay attention to fonts in the future because apparently, a game can be radically different if they use Times New Roman over Arial.