The Elder Scrolls 6 Won't Be the Next Big Thing From Bethesda

The Elder Scrolls 6 has been the biggest blip on Bethesda fans’ radar for years now, especially considering how long ago it was announced and the nearly 15 years it’s been since the release of the last game in the series, Skyrim. And recently, comments from director Todd Howard about just how much attention the studio has been putting on The Elder Scrolls 6 lately have been ramping up hype to the point that fans might be thinking it’s arrival is just around the corner. Even so, while they may not have to wait years for the highly anticipated launch at this point in the game’s development, it still won’t be the next big thing from Bethesda, assuming all the rumors hold up in the end.

There has been some confusion surrounding the development of The Elder Scrolls 6, particularly regarding how it’s being prioritized by the developer. The most popular take seems to be that “all of Bethesda” is currently working on TES6, after Howard made some comments about it during a recent Starfield presentation in Maryland. However, I was actually at this event, and the director explicitly said that “everybody here is working on The Elder Scrolls 6,” which I can only assume meant everyone at that particular studio. But Bethesda actually has three other satellite studios, meaning that while The Elder Scrolls 6 might genuinely be the developer’s top priority, it’s far from the only thing it’s devoting considerable time and resources to. And that is precisely why fans shouldn’t expect The Elder Scrolls 6 to be the next big thing they see from the studio.

Two Big Fallout Games Are Rumored to Be in Development

Sure, Bethesda is busy maintaining and evolving its live-service RPG Fallout 76, and even Starfield has received a great deal of attention from the developer in preparing its Free Lanes update, Terran Armada expansion, and long-awaited PS5 release. But not even those are the only projects the studio could potentially be working on, if the persistent rumors that a Fallout 3 or New Vegas remaster are indeed true.

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The Fallout 3 Remaster’s Rumor Mill Was Built Back in 2023

The Fallout 3 remaster feels like a matter of “when” not “if” at this point, as its rumors and leaks date back years and have been established on a fairly solid, concrete foundation. Bethesda has yet to confirm whether it’s actually real, but speculation about a potential remaster for the beloved Fallout game began back in 2023, when leaked court documents from Xbox’s 2021 acquisition of Bethesda listed it among various titles that were planned to be remastered or remade. What ultimately gives this leak legs, though, is the fact that The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered was also on that list, and it has since been released.

The rumors and leaks didn’t stop there, however, as multiple industry insiders (some as renowned as NateTheHate) have mentioned over the years that a Fallout 3 remaster is planned, though there is no indication of when it could arrive. Recent toy listings referencing the rumored game have also fueled further speculation, as well as marketing material and ads hinting at older Fallout games. Needless to say, even though the rumored Fallout 3 remaster hasn’t been confirmed by Bethesda yet, it almost feels more real than The Elder Scrolls 6.

The New Vegas Remaster Is Less Likely, But Still a Possibility

The idea of a Fallout: New Vegas remaster tends to ride alongside Fallout 3 in most conversations, but the actual evidence behind it is noticeably thinner. While insiders have occasionally mentioned plans that include both games, even those same reports suggest that New Vegas will come later, if at all, and isn’t expected any time soon. Unlike Fallout 3, which was explicitly listed in leaked internal documents, New Vegas largely exists in that second tier of speculation, where it’s talked about, but not directly substantiated in the same way.

The Fallout 3 remaster feels like a matter of “when” not “if” at this point, as its rumors and leaks date back years and have been established on a fairly solid, concrete foundation.

That doesn’t mean it’s off the table, though. Rumors have suggested multiple Fallout projects are in development, and the continued popularity of New Vegas makes it an obvious candidate for a modern re-release. The hesitation likely comes down to logistics. New Vegas was developed by Obsidian rather than Bethesda, which complicates ownership, collaboration, and scope in ways that a Fallout 3 remaster doesn’t have to deal with. So while the path forward isn’t as straightforward, the demand is strong enough that it remains a real possibility, just one that feels further out and far less certain.

It’s natural to assume Bethesda might want to focus on getting The Elder Scrolls 6 out there as quickly as possible, again, in light of how long it’s been since it was announced. But it’s actually more reasonable to expect that the rumored Fallout 3 remaster will see the light of day first, especially when taking into account The Elder Scrolls 6‘s development timeline and the kind of work that goes into remastering a game rather than building one from scratch.

The Elder Scrolls 6 Hasn’t Been in Full Production for Long

Firstly, The Elder Scrolls 6 only entered full production after the launch of Starfield in September 2023, which means it has only been in that phase for a little over two years now. To put that into perspective, while Skyrim did spend about 3 years in full production, Starfield took around 4 to 5 years due to its scale and wide variety of systems at play.

It would make sense for The Elder Scrolls 6, then, to spend the same amount of time in full development as Starfield, if not more, pushing its launch to at least 2027. However, a more realistic window would be anywhere between 2028 and 2030, as modern AAA scope has only gotten bigger since Starfield‘s launch, and Todd Howard said in a February 2026 interview with Kinda Funny Games that it’s “going to be a while yet” before The Elder Scrolls 6 is released.

Remasters Are Generally Smaller-Scale Projects

Secondly, remastering a game versus building one from the ground up is an entirely different ball game, and one that doesn’t require as much time and resources from a developer. A remaster already has its world, systems, quests, and structure in place, meaning the focus turns toward visual upgrades, performance improvements, and quality-of-life changes rather than years of foundational design work.

That also opens the door for support from external teams or smaller internal groups, allowing Bethesda to continue full production on The Elder Scrolls 6 while a remaster is handled in parallel. In that sense, the two projects aren’t competing for the same bandwidth, which makes it far easier for something like a Fallout 3 remaster to reach the finish line sooner.

The Elder Scrolls 6 only entered full production after the launch of Starfield in September 2023, which means it has only been in that phase for a little over two years now.

In short, The Elder Scrolls 6 may be the game everyone is waiting for, but it’s not likely to be the next thing Bethesda delivers. The studio has too much in motion, and the scale of TES6 simply doesn’t allow for a quick turnaround, no matter how long it has been since its reveal. All signs instead point toward the rumored Fallout 3 remaster being the more likely candidate to arrive first, especially given how long it has been circulating with credible backing. And if Bethesda is indeed revisiting its older catalog in a meaningful way, a Fallout: New Vegas remaster could follow, even if it feels less certain. Either way, the next big thing from Bethesda may not be the one fans have been waiting for the longest.