Will The Elder Scrolls 6 come out in 2026?

It’s clear that The Elder Scrolls series has an avid following, as these games have been played by millions of people the world over.

The last entry in the series, though, came out more than a decade ago, with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim hitting shelves way back in 2011. So fans have been waiting a very long time for Bethesda Game Studios to release a sequel to their highly acclaimed game. This makes sense, as Skyrim no doubt is one of the best (if not the best) RPGs of all time.

But time has gone by, and despite the game having been announced back at E3 2018, very little, if any, news about the upcoming medieval fantasy role-playing game has been released.

Bethesda themselves have yet to reveal a release date for the game even since the company became part of Microsoft in 2020, which is understandable taking into account that the developer is pouring all its energy into Starfield, a game they are gearing up to launch in September this year.

However, a Microsoft lawyer might have inadvertently given a release year for the upcoming fantasy game. This happened during a hearing which pitted the Redmond giant vs the US’ Federal Trade Commission (FTC for short), as was recently reported on PC Gamer.

You see, Microsoft has been attempting to complete its buyout of Activision Blizzard, the company behind iconic games such as Call of Duty and Diablo, but the FTC is attempting to block Microsoft’s move (this is something the UK’s CMA already did in May).

One of the concerns regarding the acquisition is Microsoft turning Call of Duty into an Xbox exclusive, as this is a game that is played by tens of millions of people worldwide, many of whom are not Xbox gamers but enjoy Call of Duty on other platforms such as the PS4 and PS5.

The upcoming Starfield will be on Xbox Series X/S and PC only (not PlayStation version has been announced), and presumably The Elder Scrolls 6 won’t launch on a PlayStation console either, but this is not so clear now.

However, in the FTC vs Microsoft hearing, the Microsoft lawyer seemed to suggest that the eagerly anticipated game might hit PlayStation consoles after all.

“There are two Elder Scrolls games, one is online called Elder Scrolls Online—that is a multiplayer game, it is on PlayStation today. [The FTC’s lawyer is] talking about Elder Scrolls 16, that is projected for release in 2026 as a singleplayer game”, said the Redmond company lawyer.

She was obviously referring to Elder Scrolls 6 in her statement (of course), even though the 2026 release year does seem a bit optimistic taking into account what other high-ranking Microsoft people have said recently.

Skyrim (pictured) came out a decade ago, but it’s successor has not released yet.

Actually, Xbox head honcho Phil Spencer said that “we’re talking about a game that’s five-plus years away” and that The Elder Scrolls 6 is “so far out, it’s hard to understand what the platforms will even be”.

So there’s a possibility that the next Elder Scrolls game will launch on PlayStation, but unlikely that 2026 will be the release year.

It may be the case, though, that development of The Elder Scrolls 6 is further along at Bethesda than most people think, and once it puts out Starfield on September 6, the Maryland-based company will speed up development in order to launch TES 6 in late 2026…

The thing is, the company will likely be supporting Starfield for years after release, putting out patches to improve the game (which is likely to arrive in a buggy state, taking into account the game’s massive scope). Bethesda might also release an expansion or two for the sci-fi RPG, taking even more time away from TES 6’s development.

So it’s quite unlikely, then, that The Elder Scrolls 6 will launch in 2026, even though Elder Scrolls fans will likely be hoping that Bethesda is somehow able to put the fantasy RPG together by that time, as this surely is one of the most eagerly awaited video game releases of all time. And if that’s not the case, then Bethesda’s own Starfield and games like the next Baldur’s Gate will surely prove to be a worthwhile diversion until the next Elder Scrolls game arrives.