Will Elder Scrolls 6 Live Up To Our Expectations?

Apart from when the highly anticipated title Elder Scrolls VI will steal the spotlight from Skyrim and save it from modders’ attention after a decade-long worth of content creation, I wanted to highlight some facts that can make us aware of what decisions are being made during the game’s development phase. Some may even question its development progress, but it is confirmed: the struggle is open-ended to deliver the game anytime this decade.

Can We Expect A Polished Launch Of Elder Scrolls VI?

Throughout Bethesda’s streak of releasing unpolished games with tons of bugs and unattended features, I genuinely hope Elder Scrolls VI will be an exception. 

With the release of Skyrim, players were intrigued with the world design as the game was vastly immersive. Random encounters and quests awaiting in every corner of the map were undoubtedly the most innovative features that the game brought at that time. Skyrim was considered a perfect follow-up to Oblivion, where lore, characters, quests, and visuals were seen as a top-notch upgrade to the series.

Yet, after observing what Starfield offered us in the first place, I have concerns about TESVI’s polished state upon its release. The recent May 15th, 2024, update of Starfield might appear to be an on-the-spot treatment of the game’s clunky interface and bug removal. But I consider that an utter display of developers’ neglect to overlook the basic features that should have been initially in the gameplay. Explicitly, that flat-out Surface Map without proper visuals was an unpleasing and directionless sight before the update.

It is confirmed that Creation Engine 2, the same engine used for Starfield, will be used to develop Elder Scrolls VI. Here, we have the joy of at least getting a fully rigged character animation with pleasing facial expressions to observe during the dialogues. I would deeply admire Bethesda if it gave us cinematic dialogue scenes similar to Fallout 4 and Starfield, but with improved gestures and facial animation, in the Elder Scrolls series.

Will Bethesda Improve Its Formula?

Players appreciated Bethesda’s formula for creating a massive open-world game that rewards players for venturing out and exploring their surroundings. The possibility of encountering random quests or stumbling upon valuable loot never disappoints.

These events populated Skyrim and Fallout’s worlds, giving players a profoundly engaging environment to interact and explore. If I mention Skyrim at this point, I always preferred walking on foot rather than using the Fast Travel option because the world was always brimming with activities to interact with. There were random bandits to encounter, dragons appearing out of nowhere, puzzles to solve, or camps to invade. 

The Elder Scrolls series will undoubtedly present an immersive world. What I highly expect from Bethesda is to focus on the role-play overhaul. Decision-making should impact the outcome of a quest, affecting NPCs and the areas around us. Players’ choices should be meaningful, and they can face consequences or rewarding scenarios based on their choices.

We can assume that the gameplay dynamics might not see a touch of innovation. The Perk Tree system, highly rewarding exploration, and immersive open world are the good-to-go game design strategies that Bethesda can not abandon.

Can We Expect Optimized And Integrated Content Without Modders’ Support?

For better or for worse, the modders and their untiring efforts will remain a fundamental aspect of Elder Scrolls VI development. Due to modders’ services and content over the years for improving and making Bethesda games deliberately enticing to play, Todd Howard officially admired the community’s work. He said that Elder Scrolls VI would carry on supporting modders’ efforts.

Following this, Bethesda also started hiring modders and officially making them work on their future projects. The Creation Club remained a vital aspect of Bethesda’s games, and after some time of its release, Starfield also received the Creation update, where players could browse and install mods with much ease.

Based on this, we can expect The Elder Scrolls VI to be an open canvas for the creativity of its community. However, the game might not be as feature-rich on its launch as we are expecting due to Bethesda’s lack of innovation and high dependence on individual content creators. But why must Bethesda allow modders to go hand-in-hand with the new upcoming title? 

Skyrim has held its worth for over a decade and has sold 60 million copies since its release, which intrigued the developers. There were times when Todd Howard stated that the aim was to create The Elder Scrolls VI playable for decades.

To ensure that the sequel lives up to the expectation and successfully carries on the legacy of its precedent, Skyrim, it appears impossible for Bethesda to follow a new architect and bring innovation to its game design tactics.