Bethesda Learns from Starfield — Todd Howard Shares How Lessons from Their Last Game Are Shaping The Elder Scrolls 6

Bethesda is taking lessons from Starfield as it works on The Elder Scrolls 6, according to studio head Todd Howard. In a recent interview, Howard opened up about the current state of TES6 and admitted that the studio’s approach to development and announcements has evolved since their experience with Starfield.

Discussing the challenges of working with new console hardware, Howard noted that developing for next-gen platforms is always both a technical and business challenge. He explained that Bethesda aims to create games that run well on high-end PCs as well as less powerful devices, including portable systems, which are becoming increasingly popular.

When asked about the early announcement of The Elder Scrolls 6 back in 2018, Howard joked, “Just pretend we didn't announce it. Doesn't exist.” Still, he clarified that the announcement was a necessity at the time—fans wanted to know about the next TES, and Bethesda wanted to give them something to balance the attention between Starfield, Fallout 76, and other studio projects.

Howard emphasized that Starfield was a learning experience for the team. “With Starfield, we struggled there for a number of years in terms of when we went through the engine change,” he said. “The one thing I'd say is really in the tech as we're going to Creation Engine 3, again, the team has done a really incredible job at not just pushing what it is, but how it's integrated into our development cycle. … we're in a fortunate position where the builds of the game are really consistently working every day,” Howard added.

He went on to say that the studio is doing everything possible to minimize downtime for content designers when technical elements of the project change. This should allow for a smoother development process than what they experienced with Starfield.

As for a release date, there’s still no concrete timeline, and The Elder Scrolls 6 is unlikely to launch anytime soon. However, Bethesda’s new approach inspires confidence: the studio is learning from past mistakes and aiming for a more stable and efficient development process.

Rumor has it The Elder Scrolls 6 could release as late as 2029.

As for Starfield, the game just received a major update and story expansion announcement. Plus, the PS5 version was officially revealed and is set to release on April 7.

Would you rather see Bethesda announce The Elder Scrolls 6 closer to launch, like with the Oblivion remaster, or do you prefer to hear about major projects long before release?