The Elder Scrolls 6 finally moves out of the pre-production phase as Starfield arrives

Elder Scrolls 6
(Image credit: Bethesda)

The Elder Scrolls 6 is seemingly in active development, right as Starfield launches.

In a new interview with Spanish outlet Vandal, Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines revealed new details about goings on at the studio. According to Hines, now that Starfield is mere days away from launching, there are people actively working on The Elder Scrolls 6 within Bethesda.

However, Hines cautioned that Starfield was very much still Bethesda's focus for the time being. Considering the developer has already revealed a post-launch expansion for Starfield, included in the Digital Premium Edition of the new RPG, there's clearly a lot of work to be done after Starfield debuts.

Despite this though, it'll likely come as a relief to many Elder Scrolls fans that the sixth mainline entry is finally being worked on. The sequel was announced right around five years ago, and to date there hasn't been any concrete information about The Elder Scrolls 6 outside of its debut trailer.

Even Todd Howard, game director of Starfield and Elder Scrolls veteran, said earlier this month that he'd make the announcement a little more casual, if he could go back and do it all again. Howard hinted at having some regrets about how early the new game was revealed, which doesn't really come as a massive surprise.

The Elder Scrolls 6 is so far out, that Xbox head Phil Spencer didn't even know what platforms it would be on, as of June this year. 

As for Starfield though, Bethesda's first new franchise launches later this week on Friday, September 1, as part of the Starfield early access program. For everyone else, Starfield will be out next week on September 6, launching on day one as an Xbox Game Pass title.

You can head over to our Starfield release times guide for at exactly when Bethesda's new game is launching in regions around the world.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
Elder Scrolls 6
The Elder Scrolls 6: Everything we know so far
The Elder Scrolls 6 screenshot of the landscape show in the announcement teaser
Upcoming Bethesda games: every game currently in the works
A screenshot of the trailer for the upcoming PC game, The Elder Scrolls 6.
Skyrim was 2,403 days old when The Elder Scrolls 6 trailer dropped - and now that same trailer is also 2,403 days old
A screenshot of the trailer for the upcoming PC game, The Elder Scrolls 6.
The Elder Scrolls 6 sleuths use Starfield math to narrow down the Skyrim sequel's potential release window, and sorry folks, it's still looking like it's ages away
A screenshot of the trailer for the upcoming PC game, The Elder Scrolls 6.
More than 4 years after its last Elder Scrolls 6 teaser, Bethesda officially re-acknowledges the RPG - using the exact same picture we saw in 2018
Starfield
Bethesda breaks silence as Starfield fans hope for an update: "We have a lot of exciting things planned for the game this year"
Latest in RPG
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot showing Astarion, a pale male elf with short curly white hair and red eyes, looking over his shoulder with a smirk on his face
Baldur's Gate 3 Astarion actor comes face to face with what might just be the best merch to come of the RPG yet – a 5-foot Funko Pop figure of his character
The Witcher 3 screenshot of Geralt
Avowed and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tap into the same thing that makes The Witcher 3 so compelling – and it's something I'm always looking for in RPGs
Atomfall
Atomfall boss "very familiar" with Baldur's Gate 3 director's frustrations with publishers, as he recalls horror advice that games are "faster to make" if you "make fewer bugs"
Official art for Hopetown, featuring a group of miners looking towards the camera.
The battle to steal the Disco Elysium successor's spotlight continues as former and current ZA/UM devs reveal teasers for their new RPGs simultaneously
Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Zero Dawn's Aloy is the star of Sony's leaked AI-powered character prototype, which allows users to ask questions to an unsettling, emotionless version of the protagonist
Latest in News
Rise of the Ronin's photo mode offers some wonderful shots
On the heels of Rise of the Ronin's PC launch, its director says there's a "significant" amount of Japanese Switch gamers: "I am closely watching how this will change with the release of Switch 2"
Stardew Valley Castle Village mod
Stardew Valley Expanded creator is building an "even more ambitious" mod with a whole new city and "dungeons inspired by The Legend of Zelda"
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily