As part of Microsoft’s ongoing legal dispute with the Federal Trade Commission over its attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, Xbox head Phil Spencer provided a hint regarding the release date of The Elder Scrolls 6. During the second day of a preliminary injunction hearing regarding the FTC’s effort to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition, he revealed information about Bethesda’s eagerly anticipated game.
The 11th of June marked the fifth anniversary of The Elder Scrolls 6’s announcement, which Bethesda made via an E3 CGI teaser depicting the mountainous terrain of one of nine provinces on the fictional continent Tamriel. And despite the fact that at least one devotee became a veteran while waiting for The Elder Scrolls 6, the game appears no closer to release than it did in 2018.
Spencer reaffirmed this fact while testifying in front of a San Francisco court on June 23. When asked whether The Elder Scrolls 6 will be available on PlayStation, the Xbox boss stated that the upcoming role-playing game from Bethesda is so far off that it is pointless to discuss its target platforms at this time.
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Spencer elaborated on this sentiment by stating that the next installment of the long-running franchise is “at least five years away.” His remarks align with Bethesda’s previous affirmation that The Elder Scrolls 6 won’t begin active development until Starfield is released. After numerous delays, this requirement will eventually be met by September 6.
Late in 2015, following the release of Fallout 4, Starfield itself went into full production. So, even if Bethesda begins to resist the trend of ever-expanding AAA development cycles, the nearly eight-year interval between its last two games makes Spencer’s prediction appear optimistic. This bit of executive insight into the project’s current status depicts the currently exploding fan petition for The Elder Scrolls 6 to drop Xbox exclusivity as utterly premature.
During the same hearing, Spencer disclosed Microsoft wasn’t even certain Starfield would arrive on Xbox in 2020, a year before it acquired ZeniMax Media, the studio’s parent company. Possible reference to a September 2020 report claiming Sony intended Starfield to be a limited-time PS5 exclusive.
Spencer denied speculating about The Elder Scrolls 6’s target platforms due to the fact that platform availability decisions are typically made late in a game’s development cycle. The development of Elder Scrolls 6 is ongoing.