Three months after a playable build randomly appeared on mobile platforms with zero fanfare, Bethesda has officially announced The Elder Scrolls: Castles, the next game from the team behind the similarly styled management sim Fallout Shelter.
I first played The Elder Scrolls: Castles on September 28, 2023, but to my knowledge a fresh tweet from Bethesda is the first public acknowledgement of the game. "The team has been hard at work on it for the last few years and we absolutely adore it," the studio says.
We’re excited to finally share The Elder Scrolls: Castles, our new mobile game from the team behind Fallout Shelter. The team has been hard at work on it for the last few years and we absolutely adore it.In Castles, you'll build your own dynasty where every day in our world is… pic.twitter.com/LAbveBtEU9January 17, 2024
"In Castles, you'll build your own dynasty where every day in our world is a year in the game's world. Citizens are born, they die, rulers change, and can be betrayed. This soft launch is one of the first steps as we get your feedback and make changes before it launches worldwide."
Bethesda notes that "the Elder Scrolls: Castles is currently available in the Philippines and will be available to more countries in the coming months." Pre-registration is now open via the App Store and Google Play, and you can find details like device requirements and account setup over in the game's help center.
If this is the soft launch, I guess that September showing was the softer launch. Whatever the case, Bethesda's official description lines up with my brief experience with The Elder Scrolls: Castles: it's basically high fantasy Fallout Shelter with a few new tricks. Recruit citizens, name heirs, give them jobs, produce and allocate resources, and scale up and up and up until your castle's spires reach the sky.
It made a good first impression as a snacky mobile game, even if I did get instantly murdered for unwittingly cheating on my wife – an especially stupid idea when your wife can and will send royal assassins after you – so here's hoping the feedback from this soft launch polishes the core idea.
The Elder Scrolls: Castles is "expected" in December 2025 according to the mobile App Store listing, or December 2024 according to the desktop App Store, so there's no telling what the 'final' launch date will be for this game that I played last year.
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