Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has suggested Microsoft could make more exclusive games again, but will The Elder Scrolls 6 be among them? We still don’t know, but that’s the question the BBC asked Sharma at Gamescom this week. But first, Sharma discussed her thoughts generally about exclusives, and how every platform, in her estimation, needs some form of exclusive content to grow.
“We are increasingly going to be one of the largest platforms in the world. Every platform needs some form of exclusive experiences and content,” she said. “And so, what we’ve shared is Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork [Revolution will be exclusive on console to Xbox]. We’re going to do the best we can to continue to do that, all in context of the business being healthy, and so we have to balance that.”
Pressed to say if it is a “priority” to make The Elder Scrolls 6 exclusive to Xbox on console, Sharma smiled and said, “It’s a beautiful game.” Sharma recently visited the developers at Bethesda and offered an update on how the game was progressing. During her visit, protestors came to Bethesda’s offices to drag Sharma for her decision to lay off thousands of Xbox developers, including people working on The Elder Scrolls 6.
Due to these layoffs and other cuts, staffers at Bethesda are facing “crushing morale” and fears of more delays.
In terms of Microsoft’s approach exclusive games going forward, the team has said it will honor existing agreements for Xbox-made games that were previously announced as multiplatform releases. The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced in 2018, but at the time, Bethesda did not confirm platform details. Microsoft acquired Bethesda in 2021, and documents from the Microsoft vs. FTC case said The Elder Scrolls 6 was not planned for PS5.
Former Xbox boss Phil Spencer, for his part, said in 2021 that making games exclusive to Xbox is “not about punishing any other platform.” He also alluded to the possibility of The Elder Scrolls 6 being exclusive to Xbox.
“In order to be on Xbox, I want us to be able to bring the full complete package of what we have. And that would be true when I think about The Elder Scrolls 6,” he said. “That would be true when I think about any of our franchises.”
Spencer spearheaded the effort to bring more Xbox games to rival platforms in a bid to make more money. He left Xbox earlier this year, and one of Sharma’s first moves was to tell fans how important exclusives are to the business. Gears of War: E-Day, which launches this October, was reportedly planned for PS5 before Microsoft opted to make it exclusive on console to Xbox.
Despite being announced more than eight years ago, The Elder Scrolls 6 still has no release date or official details.