The next mainline entry in The Elder Scrolls series is expected to be released exclusively for Xbox consoles, according to industry reports and insiders.
Exclusivity tied to Microsoft strategy
Reports say Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls 6 will follow the same exclusivity path as Starfield and be available only on Microsoft’s consoles. Jeff Grubb, a videogame industry insider, stated that neither Starfield nor The Elder Scrolls 6 will be released for Sony’s PlayStation 5.
Timing and development outlook
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox and vice president of Microsoft’s gaming division, reportedly indicated that The Elder Scrolls 6 will not arrive before Fable. Sources place Fable’s release in 2023, suggesting The Elder Scrolls 6 remains further down the roadmap and will take additional time to reach players.
Developer perspective
Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda, has expressed support for focusing releases on a single console. Bethesda sees single-platform development as reducing the workload involved in making a title run on multiple hardware platforms simultaneously, even if that approach frustrates owners of rival consoles such as the PS5.
Franchise background
The Elder Scrolls franchise began in 1994 on PC MS-DOS. The series is known for versatile gameplay and richly detailed open worlds. Major installments include Morrowind (2002), Oblivion (2006) and Skyrim (2011), each of which received year-end awards. Since its debut, the series has sold more than 40 million copies.
Recent and intervening releases
After Skyrim’s original 2011 launch (initially on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360) the title was reissued on later consoles: in 2016 for PS4 and Xbox One and in 2017 for Nintendo Switch. The franchise’s more recent releases include The Elder Scrolls Online (2014) and the mobile game The Elder Scrolls: Blades (2019).
Source
The information about platform exclusivity and timing was reported by GameRant.
