It’s been a long time coming but we’ve finally arrived. After years of fan speculation, Bethesda has made the official announcement to the crown jewel of their franchises: Elder Scrolls: VI. The Elder Scrolls V propelled the franchise into the 50 million dollar club — Skyrim was their biggest success. But Skyrim was originally released nearly eight years ago, so this announcement was one of the biggest of E3. Fans of the series have been working hard to decipher every meticulous detail from the teaser trailer. Good luck keeping it all together on your own though, as this is as rich of lore as they come. If you are interested in taking the dive into The Elder Scrolls: VI rabbit hole you've come to the right place. Here I’ve assembled the top fan theories into one place to save you some headache of sifting through all of it. After all, we are talking about one of the most expansive fantasies in modern video game history. Trying to wrap your head around it all can be an extremely overwhelming task. Thankfully, Bethesda has set the blueprint for their two most popular titles, utilizing commonalities as a means of expressing their brand of gaming. In other words, Fallout and Elder Scrolls fill a mold that makes them incredibly similar. But what if I were to tell you that TES: VI will not only buck that trend, it will also transcend anything we’ve seen from video games up until this point? That almost seems like an impossible task to accomplish yet it’s in the realm of possibility, we are talking about Bethesda after-all. Let’s take a closer look at the mystery that is The Elder Scrolls: VI.
23 Completely Revamped Combat
If there has ever been an Achilles heel to the series it has been its shoddy combat mechanics. Plaguing the series since it originated we've seen growth in the combat systems from game to game. While Skyrim has decent enough combat to enjoy it, there are still far too many inconsistencies with hit registration, awkward animations, and bizarre rag-doll physics. If there is any area that needs improvement in The Elder Scrolls: VI, it would be tightening up the combat to at least meet the current generations standards.
22 Did Morrowind Predict The Elder Scrolls: VI Plot?
TES III: Morrowind holds a special place in the hearts of many RPG fans. Which is why people cannot stop playing it over 16 years later. Other than being a stellar video game, perhaps there is another reason to revisit The Elder Scrolls III. A number of fans certainly are convinced.
Particularly, because Morrowind has made accurate predictions in the past. When the player visits the Ald'ruhun Temple and speak to the cleric named Lloros Sarano he makes mention of the possibility of an invasion by the Akaviri. The only thing they are waiting on is the "Empire to collapse in a Civil War". That war could be referring to the one we saw in Skyrim between the Stormcloaks and the Imperial empire, leaving the door open for the rest of Lloros' prophecy to come true. If you have a copy, boot up TES III: Morrowind and see for yourself!
21 Procedurally Generated Dungeons
We all have a favorite Elder Scrolls dungeon. After all, it's a popular staple of the series. Yet, these are games that you sink hundreds of hours on between multiple playthroughs, the predictability of these hand-crafted areas can grow monotonous. With the rise of the roguelike games, procedurally generated dungeons (PGDs) have stepped into the spotlight, and for good reason. It keeps the player on their toes, with them never quite knowing what to expect. It is likely that The Elder Scrolls: VI follows the trend, if not partially.
It wouldn't be the first time they introduce randomly generated dungeons in the series.
1994's The Elder Scrolls: Arena had its own rudimentary version of this mechanic. That with the popularity of PGDs at its height, it's a safe bet to believe VI will be the first in the mainline series to introduce it to the modern generation.
20 The Setting: High Rock Or Hammerfell
Bethesda capped off their excellent E3 presentation with a teaser trailer announcing The Elder Scrolls: VI for the first time ever. We got to see a camera pan over a mountainous region peppered with lush green patches. Now having a look at the scenery we can now make educated guesses in the speculation about the setting of TES: VI. From the looks of it, we can confidently narrow the list of locations down to just two: High Rock or Hammerfell?
Each makes a strong case for why they would be our next destination in Tamriel but perhaps the stronger of the two is High Rock, as it mirrors previous artwork that we've seen of the region.
19 All-New Game Engine Debuted
The way it sounds, we may receive The Elder Scrolls: VI with the launch of the next generation platforms. The freshly announced game is going to align with what Sony had projected for their next console release date. This is exciting in multiple ways: 1. It allows them to exceed the limitations of their current capabilities and 2. Paves the way for outstanding graphical fidelity to include 4K, 60 FPS gameplay.
Couple that with the resounding outcry against the bugs and glitches in Fallout 4 and a revised engine starts to make a lot more sense. That, and of course it's already been three years since the last Fallout and Bethesda must be working on something.
18 Sheogorath Makes His Return, But With A Twist
There is a popular fan theory that your character featured in Oblivion becomes Sheogorath after the Shivering Isle expansion. It holds a credible amount of weight due to the Deadric Prince Jyggalag essentially confirming it in game.
Some believe that TES:6 will place you in the shoes of Sheogorath again
only this time your mad realm will act as a customizable hub. There isn’t much to work on to support this claim as it seems to have come to fruition due to fan intrigue.
17 Where Are The Dwemers?
Depending on the timeline (or dimension) it wouldn’t be surprising to interact with the Dwemer in TES: VI or be a playable race. Throughout the series fans have always gotten a glimpse of the Dwemer race through their foreign technology and crumbling ruins.
The Dwemer are still one of The Elder Scrolls biggest mysteries.
Having an entire plot-line centered around the mysterious existence of the Dwemer would be a fantastic way for them to establish themselves in the limelight of the series.
16 Generations Mechanics
Immersion is the cornerstone of The Elder Scrolls franchise. Over the generations of consoles we’ve seen major features added to enhance the feeling that you actually exist in these worlds. A natural next step in this process would be to start a family, having children to be precise.
Children that you train, educate, and perhaps even grow older throughout the game.
We’ve seen a similar mechanic in the Fable series but I’d expect something more along the lines of The Sims 3. This would take consideration of course, as it wouldn’t be very balance to have a bunch of rugrat “Dragonborns” walking about.
15 The Elder Scrolls: Co-Op Edition
Bethesda is not afraid to take major technical leaps to transcend gaming culture. We’ve seen this with their other golden goose Fallout: 76, which recently announced it would be an online experience. Since Bethesda tends to implement its technology forward, it wouldn't be suprrising to see them introduce some elements from 76 into their next game.
Unlike Fallout: 76, I’m not quite sure the reaction would have been so positive if it were TES: VI to announce online multiplayer. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be a possibility, rather I believe a co-op route would be well received. Perhaps this is a full blown Elder Scrolls experience, or even if you could have rudimentary control over a pet (Ala Jet Force Gemini).
14 Customize Those Weapons
Weapon customization has been a staple of the Fallout series. So why not borrow some of that success in The Elder Scrolls?
Changing blades, axes pommels, or shield insignia's would add a level of item depth we haven’t seen in an Elder Scrolls title.
And the level of customization shouldn’t end there. Perhaps by adding an intuitive crafting system we should be able to personalize these weapons and have the option of selling them to NPCs. How cool would it be to see a bunch of characters in-game brandishing your products?
13 We Built This City
We saw settlement building debut in Fallout 4 and many fans would like to see it transfer over to The Elder Scrolls series. However, it would be great for the building to have more medieval themes to them, such as building forts, moats, and castles.
Allowing players to own their own shop and sell equipment to NPC would be the cherry on top.
While many players did enjoy the building mechanics from Fallout 4 must of us most certainly didn't appreciate all the nagging from Preston about all the settlements needing help.
12 Exploring The Future?
On the other hand, wouldn’t it be cool to see a moderately futuristic Elder Scrolls game? Some fans certainly believe so, with a sort of steam punk theme similar to Dwemer ruins in current games. I personally wouldn’t like to see it advance to far where we are seeing contemporary elements like firearms and jet planes, but a bit of diversity in the tech would be a welcome change. Especially considering the near indistinguishable backdrop from Elder Scrolls Online to Skyrim.
11 Don't Expect It This Generation Of Consoles
A big rumor in particular that is gaining traction is that TES:VI will in fact not be released on this current generations consoles. While we would love to see this game release sooner than later all signs point to a release window in the distant future. If I were a betting man I'd wager we are 2-3 years from the release of the next mainline Elder Scrolls title.
Don't Expect This Out For Another 2-3 Years.
I reinforce this claim with two points: 1. We only saw a brief teaser with zero gameplay. Not a good sign for a game coming out in the next 1-2 years. 2. TES: VI would fall into the timeline Sony mentioned when asked about their next console. I could only imagine Microsoft’s next console would fall into a similar timeline.
10 The Elder Scrolls Online Is Paving The Way
One of the earliest periods we’ve experienced in The Elder Scrolls timeline was with the release of The Elder Scrolls Online in 2014, taking place in 2E 600. That’s approximately 1,000 years prior to Skyrim, the latest terms of both release date and TES lore. Yet, we fans already know that many of the coolest events take place prior to events we’ve explored, as hinted by the riches of in-game books, scrolls, and text. Some fans speculate that the latest expansion packs might already be holding secrets about the next numbered release in the franchise.
We could be seeing some Elder Scrolls Online updates that add hints, Easter eggs, and maybe related content to their game. It makes sense, TES: VI has the Midas touch as this point Fans would chomp at the bits to play ESO if it released content related to TES: VI. It would be a win-win scenario and a bit of easy marking for the upcoming title. Heck, The Elder Scrolls Online is already a pretty POPULAR game, you’d better believe the developers would capitalize at the opportunity to grow their player base.
9 Apocalypse Now
Imagine beginning The Elder Scrolls: VI, not as a prisoner, but as one of few survivors in Tamriel.
A Daedric Prince has Tamriel at the heel of his foot — over half the population has been wiped out. The premise would essentially be “reverse Oblivion” with the central world being a post-apocalyptic playground and restoration gates that restore the world to its natural form. Many of the decisions in the game alter the final showdown with the Daedric Prince himself. I don’t know about you but I’d play it!
8 One In The Same
Similar to the Sheogorath theory, there’s another that claims all of the player characters in the series actually exist as one. So it’s a bit of reincarnation and destiny manifested souls that acts as the makeup to this concept. The idea is that there is a grand destiny awaiting the player in The Elder Scrolls: VI that all the previous games have been leading up to. Yet, it is revealed that all of this time your soul has existed as a hero through several generations.
7 What's My Age Again?
Having your character progress not just in abilities but age would do wonders for absorption into the world of TES: VI.
NPCs would grow older as well, bringing The Elder Scroll’s that much closer to a true sandbox experience.
This concept would work best if it coincides with the generations’ mechanic we explored earlier, you almost can’t have one without the other. It’s not often we get to celebrate our own characters birthday in a video game after-all. It’s admittedly a complicated feature to add to any open world game, but I’d have faith that Bethesda could pull it off.
6 Beard Growing Simulator
The Witcher 3 announced that it would have a mechanic where Geralt’s beard would grow as time progressed in game. Most fans scoffed at the idea, almost as if it were a fine tuned joke CD Projekt RED crafted for extra exposure. The developers were dead serious in this claim, and it turned out to be a popular mechanic in the game.
For games to truly captivate its audience it has to nail down the minor details in its world.
That way it can create an investment from the player to the gaming world through believability. Besides, the idea of hobbling back in town, bearded and bloodied from several days of dungeon diving is incredible.
5 All New Races
The Elder Scrolls is a game that allows you to customize your character to your heart’s desire. Each race has always felt unique in their own way by possessing traits that were unique to them. Yet for as deep of cast of character races we get to choose, it’s been a while since we had all-new races added to the series. The Dwemer and Akavir are the two obvious choices in this. But here’s an improbable idea: What if the player gets to be a junior Daedric Prince on their rise to power? I know that hook has its limitations but it’s not uncommon for the Daedric to possess uncanny abilities. The player could possess the ability to alter their looks, including race. This could theoretically mean you’d be capable of shifting into any race at will. I think that alone would outdo anything we’ve seen from the franchise thus far.
4 Giant Adversaries
We’ve had a sample of what battle with larger creatures could be like in our encounters with them. While rather large, we’ve never seen an enemy truly on the colossal scale. Because of this the player never truly feels that intimidating factor with most of the enemy inhabitants. An ample opportunity would be to introduce such enemies in a brand new game. Heck, we’ve already seen what Kratos could do with battles on a colossal scale in the recent God of War. Providing enemies just as massive could do wonders for diversifying enemy types while making the player feel incredibly accomplished in slaying these large creatures.