Former Bethesda lead says The Elder Scrolls 6 got announced so early because the studio had to make sure 'people were not just pissed at us' for revealing Starfield instead

The only setting preview the Elder Scrolls 6 2018 trailer offers, showing mountains and crumbling ruins in the distance — (Image credit: Bethesda)

Former Bethesda lead artist Nate Purkeypile has given a new interview to Esports Insider, in which he makes the eyebrow-raising suggestion that The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced when it was because the studio was worried people would be "pissed" at it: The Elder Scrolls 6 was announced simultaneously alongside Starfield at E3 2018

It's been… eight years. Right now Elder Scrolls fans are huffing the copium thanks to a Microsoft tease that 2026 will be a "big year for games ending in 6", but the reality is there's no indication what date Bethesda is aiming for with the next Elder Scrolls. That's one hell of a stretch, even for a marquee title, and our man reckons it's because Bethesda didn't want Starfield's debut to be overshadowed by the absence of The Elder Scrolls.

"My assumption was always that we were announcing Starfield," says Purkeypile, "and it had been so long already since Skyrim that we needed to make sure people were not just pissed at us. It’s a very expensive way to do that, though. Those trailers are not cheap."

"I would imagine that they will take a while to deliver it because there’s so much pressure behind that title," says Purkeypile, "and I think it’s been proven with Starfield that they’re finally okay, actually delaying stuff." Starfield itself was subject to one big delay, something that Purkepile says was "not really the case early on… On Skyrim, it was like, 'It's coming out on 11/11/11' and we were like, 'what?! Oh boy, no pressure.'

"I think there is less economic pressure to just get Elder Scrolls 6 out on a date, but there is more economic pressure to actually make sure it’s good, and I think that’s a good thing. That’s healthy so long as they’re also honest with the team about that."

"If they do, great! And I hope it’s a great game, but even if it’s just as good as Skyrim was, you’ll still get so many people throwing out hateful comments. I’m sure there will be more death threats again. All of that stuff. It’s really unfortunate that that’s the way things have gone."

Please end our torment. — (Image credit: UESP (Twitter))

Things then take a turn into the speculative, with Purkeypile asked about where they think The Elder Scrolls 6 should be set. Purkeypile left Bethesda in 2021 to establish Just Purkey Games, which has subsequently released the "heavy metal horror game" The Axis Unseen. So it's probably best to assume he's not doling out secret insider knowledge here, so much as having a bit of fun with it.

"I probably shouldn’t guess on that, other than not one of the regions that they’ve already done recently," says Purkeypile. "Outside of Daggerfall. That doesn’t count. My hope would be that they would just pick one region of Tamriel because that’s part of why I was not super into Starfield. It was the scope above all else.

"I think there is something to be said for going a bit more constrained. I always thought that was a weird goal anyway. No one before was saying 'I wish there were more of a Bethesda game!' It’s like, dude, people are playing that like a decade plus later. Do you really need it to be bigger? You can always dig deeper and deeper within that space because it’s already so big."

Other than that, Purkeypile "would hope that Elder Scrolls 6 has some new ideas, like systems you’ve never seen before. Who knows, maybe magic works in some completely different way, or there’s some new perk tree.

"I mean, I’ve always wondered what’s outside of the continent of Tamriel. It’s like one big landmass, basically. Isn’t there a whole planet to explore? What else is out there? That’s what I’ve always wondered."

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Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."

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